Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Mirror Illusion
by SHSL Slacker
Summary: Apparently, I'm a zorua. But no, I'm definitely human. But I look like a freaking zorua and I don't even know why because some idiot decided that wiping my memories off the face of the Earth was a good thing to do. Now I have to partner up with this sentret and pray to the poke-God I make it out of this place alright. [Semi-crossover with Kill la Kill.]
1. Beginning la End

**Heey, it's the Slacker being a horrible person by writing two PMD stories at once. Ah well. OC form at the bottom.**

* * *

_Welcome. It's nice to finally meet you._

_My name? I cannot tell you that just yet. You'll, perhaps, have to find out on your own. Hm, get that look off your face. It doesn't suit you very well._

_Firstly, to start things off, you are in the pokemon world. It is a world full of wonder, of hopes and dreams… but it is about to be destroyed. And you, human, are the one who will stop that._

_How? Well… you'll have to find out for yourself. I've already decided on what you shall be in this world, so the only thing you have left to do now is…_

_… __Interesting. Her? She isn't the most reliable, just so you know. Oh, you weren't picking her, were you now? You very much were. She shall be your partner, then. _

_Hmph, stop glaring at me. I can read your heart and inner thoughts, you know. You _definitely_ wanted to have her as your partner. And stop thinking that sounded like a sexual innuendo. In here, we don't even do that. Stop snickering!_

_Well, it's about time I send you off to the pokemon world. I wish you luck. Oh, and… well, prepare for surprises. Many, many surprises. Especially since you've chosen that girl… of course, absolutely everything can and most probably will go wrong._

_Goodbye. I hope to speak to you again soon._

* * *

**So uh. Yeah, this is another PMD fic, but it's crossing over with Kill la Kill. Hope you guys are well aware of what that is. But if you don't, then you'll still be able to read this fine, no worries. Just pokemon species, plot points, names, those kinds of things will be switched around. A lot. There'll also be some platonic yuri shipping between the partner pokemon and the hero(ine), but nothing serious. If this gets popular enough, I'll ask you guys to whom you prefer the heroine will get together with (if anyone wants to, anyway).**

**Okay, I've ranted enough. OC form! Some rules first though.**

**- Don't send any KLK characters. (I'm looking at you, mak0.) I've already planned out who's who, so send your own, preferably for those I haven't decided on a role for yet (Caterpie and Butterfree, Magnemites, etc).**

**- Up to Generation 6 pokemons, so no limits on that. Go wild. Make sure they're reasonable, though. No legendaries, either, unless you give me a very good, very legit, and very valid reason.**

**- *shakes head slowly* Mary Sues. Just... don't.**

**- Last names are allowed. Even better if they sound great with their given name.**

**- Oh, by the way, they're not gijinkas here anymore, groans. Well, do with that what you will.**

**- This is set in the PMD 1 universe (Red and Blue rescue team) but will have a few mechanics taken from PMD 2 (Explorers of Time/Darkness).**

**- Send me your OCs via PM, please. Also, I prefer the subject be [Name], [Species], PMD: MI so that I have some quick references.**

**- IF YOUR OC IS ALREADY IN MY OTHER PMD STORY, DO NOT SEND THEM IN AGAIN. That will just fuck up my mind really bad. Have you seen my forgetfulness? It's worse than, like... I don't know, but it's really bad.**

**- You can send up to three OCs. If you need four or more because of their story role, then go ahead and break the stupid limit.**

**- Story Roles that are taken: Heroine, Partner, Alakazam/Charizard/Tyranitar, Gardevoir, Gengar/Medicham/Ekans, and a few more I might have forgotten. **

**Name:**

**Species:**

**Gender:**

**Level:**

**Age:**

**Moveset (four-move limit does not apply here):**

**Ability:**

**Physical Appearance (height, defining features like scars or tattoos, other things that help distinguish them from another pokemon of the same species):**

**Battle Style (how do they battle? what moves do they use most? any moves they use in combination with another move? how do they fare with other pokemon?):**

**Held Item:**

**Personality:**

**Backstory:**

**Speech Pattern/Quotes (how do they talk? and at least three quotes please):**

**Story Role (why are they even in the story? what do they do?):**

**Likes:**

**Dislikes:**

**Fears:**

**Secret/s:**

**Hobbies:**

**Strengths (besides type advantages):**

**Weaknesses (besides type disadvantages):**

**Other (something else I probably forgot?):**

**Whew, that's it. Have fun!**

_**Slacker, 4/20/14 **_


	2. If Only I Had Memories Like A Human

"GAH!"

"Hey mom, she woke up!"

"Oh, that's wonderful. Give her some food and water now, will you?"

Where am I?

Who is that?

Actually, the proper question might be… _what_ is that?

It's like… this ball of brown fur with black rabbit ears and a big fluffy tail. She kinda looks like a raccoon. Wait, she? I mean it. It!

But I can clearly see that by all accounts, it's… a girl. I don't know why I can tell that but I… can. Somehow.

"Good morning!" she – _it_ suddenly says. I instinctively back away. It… She… It tilts its head… entire body… I don't know anymore. "Are you okay?"

"F… Fine," I respond. Wait, why am I talking to it… her… it?! I'm not supposed to. It might be dangerous or this could be a trap. "Uh, who are you? And what are you?"

"Mako! Mako Mankanshoku, sentret." It… She… smiles. "It's nice to meet you, black fox thing!"

"I'm not a black fox, I'm a human," I say, raising an eyebrow. "And what's a sentret anyway? Aren't you just some malformed rabbit-raccoon thing?"

"That was rude," Mako (I think I should refer to it… she… as that) says pouting. How can a rabbit-raccoon do that? "And you're definitely not a human. How many gummis did you eat at Coli's last night?"

"Gummis? Coli? What are those?" I say, my panic meter getting higher by the minute – second, I mean. Just what is wrong with this rabbit-raccoon and why is it… she… speaking perfectly understandably?

Mako (that's the name of this… animal, right?) looks confused. Greatly. "You sure you know what you're saying? Or you're not from town?"

"Town?" These animals had a town? I'm… really… confused.

"Hmm. Okay then, what's your name?" Mako asks.

I raise an eyebrow. "Well, I'm…"

I'm…

I'm…

…

Oh, God. What is my name?

It's… on the tip of my tongue. I can just barely remember it. R… R… Ryu… to? No, that's a guy's name. Ryu… ka… no, doesn't sound right. It's just… there, I can… remember, it's…

"Ryuko!"

"Ryuko? What a weird name." The animal laughs. "What's your species? I've never seen your kind around before."

"Species?" I got the name down, but… species…? "Like, you're a sentret, so that's your species?"

Mako nods. Or rather, tilts her whole body downward and upward again and again. It's kind of disturbing.

"I don't know…" She called me a black fox, right? "Uh, is there anyone around here who might know me or something?"

Mako shrugs. … How did she just shrug? "My mom called you a zorua. So maybe that's what you are?"

Zorua… sounds about right, strangely enough. Yeah, I think that's what I am. "Yeah, I think so."

"Okay!" Mako claps her hands… _what?_ Her hands are just little stubby paws! How did she do that? "We've figured out your name and species. Now… hm, where did you come from?"

"Me? I came from…" Where did I come from? Did I even come from anywhere? My memory's all muddled, now that I think about it. I can't seem to remember anything specific besides my name. "… I don't know. I can't remember."

"Whaaat? But it's where you come from!" Mako exclaims. "It's something you have to know!"

I frown, probably scrunching up my nose too. I know that, at least. "But I… can't remember. Not just that. I can't remember what my last name should be either… and I don't remember how I came here… I don't know anything."

"Uhh… amnesia, maybe?"

"Maybe."

It's still kind of weird. Like, if I think about it really hard, I can recall snippets of this thing or that, but they still don't make any sense whatsoever. Ugh, I just know my name and that I'm human! Even though I'm not. Looking down at my red-tipped black paws kind of assures that.

… But I _know_ I'm a human. Or at least _was_ a human. A human in one of these… animals'… body, maybe. That brings another question…

"What are we, really?" I ask. Mako snaps back to attention and looks at me with confusion.

"… Pokemon?" she responds after a while. A long while.

I roll the word around in my tongue. _Pokemon._ That sounded familiar and certain, too, like my species name (what was it – zorua?). I guess it would do for now.

"Oh yeah, aren't you hungry?" Mako pipes up. I start, nearly jumping off the straw bed. Huh, a straw bed… not bad. I could get used to it. "Mom made some food for you! Here, her best croquettes!" She shoves a straw basket (was everything made of straw in here?) at me, filled to the brim with croquettes and other… strange and… unidentifiable… ingredients in them.

"Uh… what are those?" Is that a twig?

Mako only smiles brightly. I'm going to take that as a bad thing. "They're harder to find than even the Reviver Seeds! Really tasty too. Go on, they won't bite!"

… There's something moving on one of the pieces. "I'm not sure about that." Well, I don't have much else of a choice seeing as I'm actually kind of hungry, so I hesitantly pick up a croquette and bite into it.

… It's… good.

It's actually good.

Also I feel something wriggling around in my mouth but I'm going to pretend that doesn't exist and swallow the whole thing anyway.

"It's good," I say. Mako brightens.

"Awesome! Just eat 'till you feel okay again and we'll talk s'more about you!"

Eventually, Mako and I finish the basket of croquettes (more on Mako, who seemed intent on wolfing those foods down like the devil was behind her) and she settles into a comfortable position. Her black, beady eyes blink at me, which I admit is… really, really unnerving.

"Ryuko!" she suddenly says – shouts, more like it. I jump.

"W-What?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to say your name."

… What a weird person… er, pokemon? That's what they are, right?

"What are pokemon?" I ask. Mako shrugs… seriously, her body is just one big ball of brown fluffy fur. How can she shrug?

"Ah… I guess we're… like, supernatural creatures. With powers and stuff."

…

That's it?

"We're smarter than humans, though."

… Okay.

"So, where am I?"

"In my house?" Mako does that body-tilt of hers again, which I've started to grow accustomed to. That can't be good.

"No, I mean… you guys have towns, right? Cities and stuff? Like humans?"

"Oh! We're in the Clockwork Coast Town right now. Do you know about it?" She continued once I shake my head. "It's like this town by the side of this biiiig beach and there's a clock tower that also serves as a lighthouse by a cliff near the water! Isn't that cool? I've never seen a clock tower acts as a lighthouse too!"

I don't know how exactly that's supposed to work, but I suppose since they're pokemon – whatever those are – I don't have much of a right to criticize their… uh, handiwork. "That's… cool. I guess."

Mako nods enthusiastically. "Mhm! Say, Ryuko," she pauses, as if contemplating about my name or some sort. "Ryuko, where are you going after this?"

"Huh?" I was not expecting that question. "Oh, well… I don't know. Maybe I could try to find out what happened to me…"

"Oh yeah!" Mako claps her hands again. I don't even blink. "Didn't you say you were a human? Is that the only thing you remember, besides your name?"

I nod slowly.

"Maybe the Queen will know about this," she mutters to herself. I instinctively tilt my head; well, at least foxes tilting their heads aren't as freaky as whole bodies cocking to the side.

"The Queen? Who are you talking about?"

"Satsuki Kiryuuin, she's one of the strongest pokemon I've ever seen!" Mako says excitedly. "She's got this queenly aura about her and she's always talking real sophisticated-ish, so everyone got to calling her the Queen. It's like her unofficial title or something."

"Hmm." She sounds tolerable, at least. "She lives here?"

"No, but she comes by often. _Really _often. Not here at the moment, though, so I can't ask her 'bout you…"

She moves on. "Anyway! Ryuko, if you don't know where to go, you can stay with us!"

"What?" That was way out of the blue! She would just invite a random stranger in her house just like that? This kid… er, pokemon… animal? … Well, she's insane! "Seriously? But I wouldn't want to… impose, or anything–"

"Oh, psh, it'll be fine!" Mako says, waving a stubby paw in the air offhandedly. … I'm unsure as how to act to this. "My mom would love another girl in the house! And my dad and my little bro would like it too… for different reasons probably."

"… Uh, right." That doesn't sound very uncommon, at least. "… Well, if it's _really_ alright with you, then–"

"Yay!" she shouts before I can even complete my sentence. "Mom! Guess what!" she runs out of the room and smacks against another pokemon, probably; this one looking like a cream-and-brown colored ferret. She smiles down warmly at Mako, who's still jumping around like a maniac.

"What is it, Mako?"

"Ryuko – that's her – she says she's okay with staying here 'till she finds her own place!"

Why does that make me sound demanding somewhat? "I mean, if it's alright with you, Miss–"

"Oh, no, it's quite fine." She directs her smile over towards me. "I'm Sukuyo Mankanshoku. It is a pleasure to meet you…?"

"Ah. I'm… Ryuko. Pleasure's mine." Why can't I remember my last name either?

She pauses a bit, like she's expecting a surname, but continues on when she realizes that's it. "I see. Well, if it's alright with you, you'll share a room with Mako. We're not exactly the richest here, so…"

"Ah, that's fine!" I hurry to say. Not the richest? Wow, I feel horrible now. Why am I still here again? I should probably go if I'm just going to be another mouth to feed… "A-Am I too much? Sorry. I didn't know–"

"Oh, no, please, stay!" Sukuyo says, which catches me completely off guard. That… wasn't what I was expecting to hear. "It'll be wonderful to have such a polite young woman in our home. Please, stay. You won't be a burden at all."

I hesitate; would it really be okay? It's true, I had nowhere else to go… and Sukuyo is being friendly enough… oh, fine then.

I nod. Both Sukuyo and Mako smile and I guess this is the right choice.

* * *

Mako tells me about her family to pass the time. Apparently it's almost dark and it's dangerous during the late hours, so she's going to show me around town tomorrow.

She has her parents and her younger brother, Matarou or some sort. Her father's a linoone, whatever that is, and Matarou a zigzagoon. They're alike in appearance, she says, but I shouldn't have any trouble differentiating them. Well, of course.

Then her father comes in the room in such a panic I can barely understand what's happening. Hm, well, at least, I _think_ he's her father… he's a slender-bodied quadruped pokemon, and for some reason, he somehow fits the description of linoone well in my head. Maybe it's the pokemon instincts.

"Matarou's in troubleeee!" He yells, along with several other words I can barely make out. Mako apparently can, though, because she's up and running in a panic and… Bazarou? Barazou? Yeah, I think it was Barazou. Barazou catches sight of me and we stare at each other for a good ten seconds before he says the inevitable question.

"… Who's she?"

"Oh, she's Ryuko!" Mako piped up. "She's staying with us for now 'cause she has amnesia and has nowhere else to go. You're okay with that, right, dad?"

"Ah, sure. But wait! I know, you have to prove yourself first!" the linoone nods, which I find kind of disturbing because I don't know where his neck ends. "Help us! Matarou – I'm sure Mako here's told you about him – he's in trouble! We went looking for food… but he up and went and got lost in the woods!" Barazou all but sinks to the ground. "Could you and Mako go and help find him? He's not all that good at fighting on his own and… WAAAAH!"

"Yes sir!" Mako salutes. … What? "Now stop crying, that's not very manly of you. Here, Ryuko, let's go!" She grabs my wrist and proceeds to drag me to the door, which doesn't work very well seeing as my wrist is basically my front paw and I end up tripping and falling flat on my face. Mako doesn't seem apologetic at all.

I pick myself up, still not very used to actually walking and standing and _running_ around on all fours. I'm a bit wobbly like this… but I think if I try hard enough I can keep up with Mako's pace. Speaking of, the sentret's fidgeting restlessly like she can't wait to go out into the wild and save her little brother. Does that make sense?

"Where are we going anyway?" I ask. I'm already resigned to just following her around for now until I get the hang of this. Anyway, I _do_ have to 'prove myself' as Barazou stated.

"The Coast Woods!" Mako exclaims. "They're the only woods around here, after all. And it's where dad and Matarou always go to find food. It's not a really hard Mystery Dungeon, but Matarou isn't the best at fighting either." She pouted. "I wonder why he'd–"

"Mystery Dungeon?" Great, even that sounded threatening. What was that?

"Oh yeah, you have amnesia!" Mako nodded. She really should stop nodding. "They're, like, this thing that happens to areas when stuff like… what was it, spatial phenomenons? Oh, phenomena. Right, that. When stuff like spatial phenomena cause that area to warp and turn into an even bigger place with mean pokemon who hurt when they hit."

"… O… kay?" That was one confusing explanation but I think I get the gist of it. So Mystery Dungeons are bad, I got that.

"Trust me on this one though! Coast Woods are easy. Not as big as other Dungeons and the pokemon there can be reasoned with. Sorta. This'll be a great chance to practice your pokemon-ity, Ryuko!"

"What?" Did she just make up her own word? … Well, that's not very surprising, actually. I think I'm getting used to her strange mannerisms, disturbing as that sounds.

Mako scampers ahead, making me stumble over my own two… four paws trying to keep up. Yep, still not used to walking around like this. "You said you were a human, right? Don't humans walk around on two legs like thiiiiis?" She attempts going on a two-footed position, which she holds for all of two seconds before her tail instinctively curls around and has her standing on it. "Whoop! Meh, other sentrets can do that easily, but I'm more used to going on my tail. Right, where was I?"

I feel myself sweatdrop. "Humans walk around on two legs…?"

"Oh, yeah! So like, Mystery Dungeons are great for training you! Get used to walking on fours and attacking other pokemon." She nods. "So here, I'll teach you Ryuko! Let's go!"

"W-Wait! Ah, crap…"

* * *

_Coast Woods – Floor 1_

"Ryuko, you should know Scratch, right?" Mako asks. I falter.

"Scratch? Isn't that just, like, well… scratching something?" I lift my paw up for emphasis, but that costs me my balance and I almost fall over.

It's nighttime, maybe eight or nine pm judging from the dark clouds floating above us. I don't think I've ever seen that many stars in the sky… well, anyway.

Coast Woods doesn't look threatening at all. In fact, it looks almost friendly. It's located just a few ways away from the beach, which I guess is where it got its name. I haven't seen a single pokemon since getting here, which Mako says is purely because of her. Seeing as she said that with a completely serious face, I'm not sure whether to believe her or not.

"Still a move," the sentret says. "You're probably a low-level 'mon, right? You look like you can use Scratch, so… hm, HEY EVERYONE!"

_What is she doing._

Within seconds, there's practically a crowd of wild pokemon staring hungrily at the both of us. I nervously back away, while Mako barely even looks fazed. She flashes a bright smile and turns to face me. "See, Ryuko, you can practice against them!"

As if on cue, a pokemon (at least I think it's a pokemon) that kind of looks like a black wolf-dog thing pounces on you, growling and snarling. I jump away at the last second; those fangs do not look very inviting, nope. It hits the ground and it lets out a whine of frustration before turning to look back at me, eyes narrowed.

Ah, hell.

It leaps at me again and I swerve to the side a tad too early, as it intercepts my movements and bites down on my – _oww!_ God, that was my front leg! Okay, I believe revenge is in motion.

_You're still not sure on how battling works here, right? For starters, let's try to copy this thing's moves,_ a tiny and strangely enough, masculine voice whispers in my head. I almost jerk back from the shock of a voice that _clearly_ wasn't mine in my _head_, but the dog's at me again before I realize it, front paws pinning me down as it snarls and spits and bares its fangs at me.

Copying its movements… I can do that. With great difficulty, I heave the dog off of me and pounce on it before it can react, this time with me pinning it down. It whines, its entire body fidgeting and trying to kick me off, but I dig my claws down on its neck (or where I suppose its neck should be). It yelps, loud, and pushes me off successfully this time. My momentum gone, I tumble on the grassy surface and struggle to steady myself on my four legs.

The dog charges at me once more but this time, I dodge out of its way and turn sharply, jump, then land on its back. It howls and tries to fling me off, but before it can do that, I sink my claws in the general direction of where its neck should be, causing blood to spurt out. Some of it lands in my eye. Ew.

It gives out one last cry before toppling over, blood pooling around its neck. I jump off, panting and blood splattered on my fur (… fur? Oh, right, I'm a pokemon now). Did I kill it? It was still breathing heavily and twitching every so often, but it definitely wasn't going to live for very long if nobody bothered to treat it. Just as I was thinking that, a group of three other dogs that look like the one I just fought show up, growling angrily at me.

… Are they going to fight again? Damnit, they're bigger and they look much tougher than the smaller dog… I can't possibly win against them. I ready myself in a sloppy battle stance anyway.

Then they turn back, pick up their bleeding comrade, and walk away, eventually disappearing into the trees.

I relax. … Whew.

_Those were poochyena and mightyena,_ the voice says again. I jump this time. Seriously, it's a guy's voice in my head! Am I desperate? Don't feel it. But why…? _I'm not a figment of your imagination, by the way. I'm just… well, your impromptu mentor, shall we say. You can call me Senketsu._

"Senketsu." I sigh. I need to see a doctor. "Fine, whatever. Not like anything worse than a guy talking in my head can happen today. I might as well roll with it."

_Glad to see you're cooperating,_ Senketsu cheerily exclaims, which is kind of unnerving.

He doesn't say any more than that, so I redirect my attention to Mako, who looks perfectly fine. Behind her are several unconscious bodies of the pokemon from before, a few groaning in pain. The sentret spots me and waves. "Hiya! Glad to see you're okay, Ryuko!"

I can feel my jaw touching blades of grass. "You beat them all on your own?"

Mako shrugs. "They're not altogether that strong. It's mostly quantity over quality. Anyway, I've already memorized their tactics and strategies, so I'm all good!" She beams. "What about you, Ryuko? How'd you do?"

"Uh… fine." I don't know how else to describe my first battle. 'Fine' seems to cover it up pretty well. "Is there usually bloodshed?"

"Blood?" Mako tilts her head… ahem, whole body to the side. "Eh… not really. Unless you wanna get serious. But most of the time? Nah."

… Let's hope I just got a bit into the battle. That's it. Totally nothing to do with my instincts or anything.

_You're bad at this._

"Shut up," I mutter. Mako looks kind of surprised and confused at the same time, so I hurry to say, "No, no, I didn't mean you! Just this stupid voice in my head that won't go away…"

"…" Mako stares at me for a good long while before smiling. "Okay!"

She must think I need to see a doctor now, too. Great.

* * *

_Coast Woods – Floor 2_

"Know what berries are, Ryuko?" Mako asks cheerily. Is… Is she trying to make me sound stupid?

"Of course I–"

"Like Oran Berries, Pecha Berries, Rawst Berries, Aspear Berries, Cheri Berries, that sorta thing?"

… Okay maybe not.

"They're useful for healing you if you're in a tough spot! Oran Berries give you energy, Pecha Berries heal you from poison, Rawst Berries heal you from burns, so on and so forth. You always have to make sure you have lots of berries if you're ever going out on a Dungeon so you don't get in trouble, mhm!"

She nodded at that. I didn't look, but I'm sure she nodded.

"Then there are also Seeds! Y'know, like Blast Seeds and Heal Seeds and such. They're useful for just about anything! Even the Plain Seeds. I mean it, Ryuko! Have you tasted my mom's Plain Mix? It tastes great, even though it doesn't sound like it!"

Well, at least she admits that.

Mako's a natural scout, I've noticed. Though she doesn't look like she's paying much attention to her surroundings, I can see the way her eyes dart around whenever we enter a clearing or descend a floor. She goes in front of me, but sometimes she lingers a bit so I can catch up and then she looks behind me, like she's watching out for something.

And her ears are hyper-sensitive too, though anyone's ears would be, large as they are. They twitch every time she hears something suspicious and she's always on the go as soon as she finds out we're going to be attacked, always fighting the wild pokemon head-on while making sure I still get enough practice battling. It's kind of touching, actually.

Senketsu is also a strange… voice, I guess, is what I can classify him. He only pipes up whenever there's a need to, or when there's a really good chance to say something sarcastic. He can also read my mind, which isn't very surprising, seeing as he is _inside_ of my mind, but it's still freaky.

_I can hear you._

See? I'm telling you, I don't know how he got in my head. Like, he's just… there. I'm going to drop the subject now because it's creeping me out and I can't be creeped out any further when I have to look out for wild pokemon out for my blood.

Mako says Mystery Dungeons have a floor system. "Yeah, it's kind of weird," she said. "But it's easier than walking around in this giant forest, right?"

She does have a point. I follow her down the next two flights of stairs as we reach the last floor.

_Coast Woods – Floor 4_

In there, what looks like a dump of bodies litter the clearing.

… Hold on.

It takes a while for me to calm down and force my jaw back up, but there is _literally_ piles of unconscious (hopefully) pokemon everywhere I look. In the midst of that is a pokemon around my size, raccoon-like, and with bristly hair all over. It's a… guy, I can tell that similarly to how I could tell Mako's a girl, but this one looks ridiculously excited just fighting all these pokemon.

"Ahh, Matarou!" Mako calls in a panic. "What are you doing?! Don't just beat them all up without me! It's unfair!"

… Is this family for real?

After some rapid talking between the siblings (I assume they're siblings), Mako drags Matarou back to where we were standing and tells me he's fine and that the only problem that arose from this is that he didn't tell Mako that he was on a fighting spree. I just nod and laugh nervously and introduce myself to Matarou.

"A zorua?" he says. He scrunches up his nose as if it's hard to believe. "Never heard of those before… _and_ you have amnesia? Sounds suspicious…"

He's definitely sharper than his family members though…

"… but you're a babe, so I'll let it pass!"

… I retract my previous statement. He's on the same intelligence level as his sister. How do pokemon indentify who's a 'babe' and who's not, anyway? Don't they all look the same? Well, I'm not really one to talk…

Eventually, Mako informs me about his species (a zigzagoon) and we head back to town.

* * *

When we get back, there's a tearful reunion between Matarou, Barazou, and Sukuyo. … Actually, only Barazou was the one who burst into tears and hugged the air out of his son, while Sukuyo chastised the zigzagoon lightly but gave him a couple croquettes for fighting well.

After that, Barazou turns to look at me and nods approvingly. "You're alright with me. It seems our daughter has made a good choice in girlfriends!"

"I'm not her–"

"I know that. She's actually pan. But anyway, you can stay with us for as long as you like! Plus, you _are_ a babe. I can agree with Matarou on that one. So you're welcome to stay here until you find yourself a place!"

Sukuyo rolls her eyes, but her lips are curling upward slightly. "Men."

"Yay!" Mako cheers, wrapping her arms around me, which is kind of hard because her arms barely even reach halfway around my neck. "Let's be awesome friends, Ryuko!"

"Haha… yeah, sure…"

Senketsu chuckles in the back of my mind.

* * *

**Finally, a chapter! But first, this is probably really bad luck. Guess whose document died in the middle of writing this? Guess who got more than three nosebleeds while writing this? Guess who got really, really fed up and went ahead and played like three dating sims in a row?**

**Not me, totally. Definitely not.**

**But anyway. Word Count: 4400+. Don't expect future chapters to be this long. I hate writing in first person...**

**So! What happened in this chapter... introduction of our surname-less heroine, Ryuko, the Mankanshoku family, and the mysterious Senketsu. Arceus only knows how this is going to turn out. Ryuko's first battle with a poochyena, and a show of awesomeness by both Mako and Matarou. Seriously. Mankanshokus.**

**Up next: I don't know, to be honest. Hm. Exploration team talk, and if I can fit it in/if I don't get too lazy, the start of the Magnemite mission. Stay tuned.**

_**Slacker, 2/24/14**_

**PS: It's April 24... _April 24..._ in other words, for those unaware, my cosplay convention is coming up on the 26th. I will constantly remind everyone to check out my tumblr (chibi-ryusatsu) for publicity and that you're going to find maybe a _couple_ drawings of Ryuko. Maybe if you dig deep enough you'll find it.**


	3. So Tiring, Mako Already Fainted

**Do you hear the Slacker cry**

**Crying the tears of slow updates**

* * *

I wake up, and the first thing I see is SWEET JESUS CHRIST WHAT IS THAT… oh, yeah. Mako, sentret, pokemon, and… I'm a zorua. Right, right, calm down… breathe, girl, breathe…

Mako blinks at me for a bit before brightening. "Oh! Ryuko, you're awake!" She quickly engulfs me in a hug. I chuckle nervously and wonder why she has to hug me first thing in the morning. I get the feeling I'm going to have to be used to this somehow…

"Ryuko! You know, we should make a rescue team!" Mako exclaims all of a sudden.

"Rescue team?"

"Yeah, it's where two or more pokemon form a team to help other pokemon stuck in Mystery Dungeons!" Mako explains. "It's got some paperwork in it, but it's quick and easy so I think I can do it!" She raises her stubby paws for emphasis. Looking at said stubby paws though, I doubt she actually can do it… well.

"What's in it for me?"

"Welllll… we kinda need a source of income?" Mako grins sheepishly. "You're in the family now! So we need more money for an extra pokemon. And you're gonna have to work for it! Consider it rent."

Rent… doesn't sound so bad. Anyway, it sounds fine, if not a bit…

"Isn't it dangerous?" I ask.

Mako shrugs. Still not used to _that_. "Kinda. But you're a Mankanshoku, and I'm a Mankanshoku, and Mankanshokus are super strong and awesome!" She beams. "You'll be fine. You're good at battling anyway, right, Ryuko?"

"… Depends on which pokemon I'm facing." But she had called me a Mankanshoku… Ryuko Mankanshoku, huh? It doesn't sound bad, at least. I can get used to this.

"So is that a yes?" Mako grins.

_Say yes._ I can just hear the grin in Senketsu's words. _You do need to repay this family for giving you food and shelter._

"Alright, alright," I mutter under my breath, directed towards Senketsu. Mako takes that as an answer, though, and cheers excitedly. "Wait, I mean–"

"We're gonna be an awesome rescue team, Ryuko!" She jumps on me and proceeds to hug the air right out of my lungs. Which is a commendable feat, because her arms are kind of… not that long. "I'm gonna tell mom!" With that, she bounds out of the small wooden room.

The silence settles in and I take a minute to observe the room in itself. It's small and cozy, fitting in two yellow straw beds, two small tables and a lot of other random things strewn about. Did I forget to mention it's pretty messy? Well, it is. I don't see any food around here, though, so I guess that means Mako likes her food.

The only exit out of the room is a small circular door, which is easy for pokemon like Mako to get out of, since she's round and fits perfectly. The door probably isn't very fit for zoruas, since the first few times I tried getting in, I had to struggle for two good minutes.

"Ryuko!" Mako bursts back in the room. "Mom says it's okay! And if Mom says it's okay then that means Dad says it's okay too."

"Uh… I'm going to be smart and not ask about the logic in that sentence."

"You learn fast. Ooh, where was I? Right, right. So, we have to go to the Post Office here! We can sign up and send our letter to the… the… what was it? I think it was… Pokemon Rescue Team Fed… eration. Yeah, that sounds right. Okay, we'll send our letter to them and by tomorrow, we should be able to be an official rescue team!" Mako spread out her arms (which, I repeat, was not very impressive), finishing her long-winded explanation.

"That's, uh… nice. So, where's the Post Office, exactly?"

Mako paused. "…"

"Don't tell me you don't–"

"It's in town, duh!" the sentret says. "But I… ah, don't know how to get there. It's usually Mom who does all the mailing, and I've never gone there with her before, so…"

"Oh, my God." I would have facepalmed, but since I'm on all fours now, I settle for hanging my head. "You live in this town and you don't even know where the _post office_ is?"

"I'm sorry!" she squeaks, though she doesn't seem very sorry. "But hey! Town's not that big! It's also a great opportunity to show you around so you'll know your way too!"

_She has a point,_ Senketsu mumbles. I grunt affirmatively.

"Well, uh, okay then. Fine. Show me around… what was it again?"

Mako grins. "Clockwork Coast Town! Now let's go, Ryuko!"

* * *

As Mako said, Clockwork Coast Town is not that big. In fact, it looks more like a clump of small painstakingly hand-built (or paws, or other appendages) stands and small buildings just bunched up together. There's a narrow cobblestone pathway to walk on, but many of the stones are ridiculously sized and don't match up with the ground, so I stumble several times just walking. Mako, on the other hand, looks perfectly used to the surface.

Granted, she does live here. I'll let that pass for now.

"Look, look!" She points to a colorful-looking stand, built to look like a large green head of a… gecko, maybe? Iguana? A reptilian pokemon, I'm sure of that. Behind the stand, two pokemon who look the same species with different coloring manage it, with several items and glass jars decorating the counter. "Those are kecleon, and they run Kecleon Store! They sell stuff and sometimes it's overpriced but they're super scary if you try to bargain with them so just buy it and complain later. In one of these books I read kecleon are supposed to look like chameleons to humans, right?"

Chameleons… they look the part, I suppose. Green with yellow and red patterns and a long tongue, while the other is purple with green and red patterns. They stand on two legs, but they look like they can go on all four as well. Lucky…

"I guess so."

Mako moves on, dragging me along with her somehow. In front of us is a brown stand built to look like the head of a… I'm not sure what that is. Something brown and probably a mammal. Yeah, that sounds about right.

"That's Kangaskhan Storage, run by big 'ol Mama-skhan and her kid, Baby-skhan! She stores your precious items and other objects for you so you don't lose them if you ever get in a bad encounter in a Mystery Dungeon."

"Okay, that's nice, but are those seriously their names?"

"No. I just like calling them that. Mama-skhan is named Taura and her son's named after his dad, Yoshi."

"H-Hold up!" I laugh. "Yoshi? Are you serious? Wait, so what animal are they based off of?"

"Animal…?" Mako pauses. "… Oh! I guess they look like… kan… kanga…"

"Kangaroos!" I finish, breaking into peals of laughter. "But Yoshi – Yoshi is–"

"Ehh? What's wrong with Yoshi?!" Mako cries out, almost sounding concerned. "Is that a bad-luck name? Does Yoshi need good luck charms?"

"N-No." I wipe some tears from my eyes (with difficulty), still giggling. "It's just… a funny name." Strange I can remember that stuff from the human world and I can't remember my own last name. "A-Anyway, it's no big deal. Let's continue."

Mako stares at me looking very confused for a bit, before shrugging and moving on. "Whatever suits you, Ryuko. Hmm, let's see…" She pauses in front of a stand built to look like a cream-colored cat with a red jewel on the forehead. "Ooh, here! This is Felicity Bank, run by that persian over there." She points at… a slender, cream-colored cat with a red jewel on its forehead. I thought so. "You can store money there. Obviously. It's a bank, after all."

"Okay… hey, what'd you say the name was again?"

"Felicity Bank." She tilts her… head. Probably. "Why?"

"… No reason." I get the feeling in some other world, Felicity… is not a name to be said with grace. Oh well. "What's that over there?"

"Ooh, I like this place!" Mako drags me closer to the 'place', which turns out to not be a stand, but a full-blown restaurant. It's a freaking restaurant. I did not know pokemon were capable of building _restaurants_. How do they even…?

_Well, there are tyranitars and dragonites and conkeldurrs and other psychic-type pokemon…_ Senketsu helpfully informs me. I mentally wave him off and ignore him, mainly because I didn't know what the hell tyranitars or dragonites were.

"This is Coli's Café!" Mako cheers. "They serve tons of awesome stuff! Mom still cooks better food than them though. Okay but still! They serve gummis and juices and, get this, _floats!_ And you can ask for _extra lemon slices_ with drinks!"

"…" I stared wordlessly at her. "And?"

She pouted. "Well, maybe for _you_ humans it doesn't really matter 'cause you get those all the time. But for us pokemon, extra lemon slices and floats are super duper cool!" She giggles just thinking about it. "And a lot of it is cheap! Not like we can afford it that often but… it's still cheap! When we get lots of money from doing rescue jobs, let's eat here, Ryuko!"

"Uh… okay." Whatever she says. "Anything else?"

"That's all the major stuff in town." Mako grins. "So, let's go and look for the Post Office!"

"Can't you just ask?"

"But that's no fun…!"

I sigh, shaking my head. "Okay, fine. Let's go."

"Yay!"

* * *

It takes approximately twenty minutes to arrive at the Post Office. Or what I assume is the Post Office. It looks like a giant pelican bird with a yellow beak and blue-and-white feathers, and more pelicans are flying in and out of the roof, so I guess it's a Post Office in pokemon standards.

I also guess it's a Post Office because Mako screams and hugs the building with her stubby little paws. No one bats an eyelid at her, except for maybe this one… big… dragon.

Yes. A dragon. I'm looking at a giant orange dragon with actual wings and a tail that looked like it could slam against me, kill me in one strike, and not even have a scratch on it. It's a _dragon_ for God's sake. What am I doing again?

"Ooh, hi Drago!" Mako greets enthusiastically WAIT WHY IS SHE TALKING TO THE DRAGON. Maybe the dragon is nice? "Nice day today!"

He… well, I guess it's a he. I can tell he's male similar to how I can tell Mako's a girl. I guess it's the pokemon instincts. Anyway, he kind of blinks down at her (she's barely even one third of his size…) and nods. "Yes. Sunny today. … Aren't you hot, though? You've been running around for a long time and you're not even sweating." He looks a bit amused. Or in between amused and thinking along the lines of 'why am I talking to her again?'.

"Oh, I'm sweating tons!" Mako says, her words starting to slur as she stumbles around blindly. "I'm sweating tons _now_, anyway. I was ignoring the heat so I could look for the Post Office better! Ahahaha~ but I think the heat is getting to me now… haha… hahaha… Drago, why are there two… three… four… five of you? I didn't know you could use Double Team! Wheee~"

She then promptly collapses on the cobblestone road with a resounding _thud_. Drago (I guess that's the dragon's name) and I wince. "That sounded painful."

"Not like she'd really notice it once she wakes up," I say. Drago nods in agreement, then actually turns to look at me to see who he's talking to.

A dragon's looking at me straight in the eye… I gulp. I thought dragons only existed in fairy tales… but I guess this whole thing is a fairy tale in itself, huh? He blinks once more and seems to raise an eyebrow (if he had eyebrows…) in confusion. "You're a…"

"Yeah?" I prompted.

"… never mind."

… Be that way, then, dragon. I shrug and head over to Mako, and after some difficulty, get her on my back. Drago keeps staring at me, and I look back up at him with some irritation. "… Yeah…?"

"Nothing." He turns away. I frown. "What were you going to do?"

"Mako wants to make a rescue team or some sort, and was gonna write a sign-up letter to…" I scramble to remember what she said. "To give to the Pokemon Rescue Team Federation. Or something," I add on as an afterthought.

Drago hums. "Have you thought of a team name?"

A team name? … Mako didn't tell me about that. But I didn't want to sound stupid in front of a dragon, and a pretty experienced one at that, judging from the scars littering his body and the large cuts in his wings. I think one of his… antennae, I guess? One of his antennae has been cut off. Team name, a team name…

"Uh… we–"

"You haven't, have you?" He looks down at me again, though he doesn't look very angry. More of a flat kind of stare.

"… No." Sigh.

"Having trouble picking a name?"

"Admittedly, yes. How do people go and pick names anyway? It's hard to make it sound cool and still not evil at the same time." I puff my cheeks out, which is probably childish, but I don't care by this point. The dragon isn't all that dangerous, anyway. Probably.

He raises an eyebrow.

Okay, so he doesn't _actually_ raise an eyebrow, but he has this expression on his dragon face that looks like if he had eyebrows, he would raise an eyebrow. "People?"

_You just blew your cover,_ Senketsu deadpans. I thought I had tuned him out for good… _Nah._

"I mean pokemon," I hurry to say. "I was just reading this book about humans and I got used to talking about it with Mako, so…"

He looks at me with the eyebrow-raising expression for a bit more, before shrugging it off. Good. "If that is so. I shall advise you; team names are unchangeable. Think about it before writing the name down. Hm, I suggest something to do with…" he gives the both of us a long stare before continuing. "… illusions."

"Illusions?" That's a rather vague topic…

He nods. "I'll be off. Good day." Before I can get another word in, he flaps his wings, hovers above the ground, and soars off with unimaginable speed. I watch him in awe as he speeds over the town.

Then I ponder over his words. '_Illusions, huh? Why illusions?_'

_You're a zorua,_ Senketsu remarks._ Zoruas and their evolution are known to be the only non-psychic-type pokemon to be able to conjure illusions. And even then, it's hard for other psychic-types to conjure realistic illusions. That's your talent; illusions._

"And what about Mako?" I ask under my breath so as to not attract attention and not make the nearest pokemon direct me to the hospital. "She's a part of the team too, and she's got nothing to do with illusions, as far as I know."

Senketsu hums, or makes a sound like a hum. _You've known her for a day. She may have a little… talent, too._

"Something in your tone makes me feel like you know more about this than you sound like," I grumble irritably. "Stop being difficult, voice in my head. You know, I _really_ need to see a doctor since you still haven't gone away."

_I recommend you _not_,_ Senketsu says with a touch of annoyance. _I'm vital for your survival in this world, Ryuko. Unless you want to die thanks to your nonexistent knowledge in fighting as a pokemon, you should definitely not get rid of me._

"…" He has a point there, annoyingly enough. Damn it. "Fine. But only for my own benefit. Alright?"

_Fine with me,_ Senketsu says with an air of finality. He sighs. _You are very difficult, Ryuko M… ankanshoku._

Did he just… hesitate there? "You were going to say something," I press. "Something that starts with the letter 'M'. What was it? My… last name?"

_Enough,_ Senketsu says tiredly. _Mankanshoku just sounds a bit strange on you._

"No, that's definitely not it," I persist. "My last name starts with 'M', doesn't it? What is it, Senketsu? What do you know about me? Who am I? No… who are _you?_"

_Enough!_ He roars, loud enough to rattle my brains and give me a horrible headache. I would have clutched my head with my hands, but I only have paws here, so… _You have questions. You are confused. I understand that! But now is not the time for you to receive answers to those questions! You are _not ready_!_

"… How so?" I can't really argue with the tone of voice he's using.

Senketsu pauses, and when he speaks again, his voice softens a bit. _It has only been your first day. You have not even had any… dreams about the subject yet. Do not question me on this. I will, however, grant you this piece of information; I am in your mind for a reason, and this reason is an important one. Moreover, I am not allowed to disobey my master's orders. If you get rid of me, you die, I disappoint my master, and you sadden Mako greatly. In summary, we all lose. Do you understand?_

"Yeah," I mumble. "Guess I do." I would ask a lot of questions on what he just said, but that wouldn't really help matters now.

… He sighs. _I apologize. To clarify, I was not angry at you. I was simply… pushed. To help, what about that team name?_

"Oh, yeah. Illusions, huh?" I take a seat next to the white Post Office while Mako slips off my back and lands on the soft grass with a quiet thump. "I like the concept of illusions, I guess. They're pretty… confusing, though."

_I like illusions myself,_ Senketsu says in a faraway tone. _They are there, and at the same time, they are not there. Almost like a reflection from a mirror._

I hum in acknowledgement. "That's a nice comparison."

If he were human… er, pokemon, Senketsu probably would have nodded at that and let the subject be. An awkward silence descends upon us, but thankfully, Mako wakes up at that exact moment.

"Ryuko!" she shouts and I jump fairly high in the air. "What happened? Where are we? Where'd Drago go?"

"You fainted, we're beside the Post Office, and the dragon flew off," I respond, more out of instinct than anything else. Did this girl really have to shout my name first thing she wakes up? "You're okay now? Why did you even faint?"

"Heat?" Mako grins shamelessly. "Eh, it doesn't matter. Ryuko, let's go and sign up already!"

"Wait wait wait. Slow down there." I nudge her forehead for emphasis. "What about a team name? You didn't tell me about that."

She pauses, thinks about it for a moment, and soon enough a bulb lights up above her head. "Oh yeah! We needed a name! I forgot about that. Oopsie!" She laughs it off nonchalantly, lightly hitting herself on the head and making an 'oops!' expression. I almost smack it off her face when I realize I don't have hands anymore and I can't exactly do that without sacrificing my balance. I settle for sighing exasperatedly.

"Any suggestions?"

"Lessee… nope!" Mako skips ahead. "You think of one, Ryuko! If you don't, I'll fill the blank up with 'Friendship'!"

Something in me says she definitely meant that, so I immediately run after her, stumbling on a loose floorboard on the way.

The inside of the Post Office is nothing magnificent. It's basically a large and circular wooden room with a large counter at the far end and lots of other tables and chairs. Mako confidently grabs a paper with the heading 'RESCUE TEAM SIGN-UP FORM' from a nearby desk and a pen. She plops down on a chair and grips the pen in her small paws easily enough, surprisingly.

Mako begins filling in the basic stuff, I guess; the starting members of the team, hometown, other occupations and other things I can't see. She writes in everything but the team name, and once she's finished, she looks back at me expectantly.

"Uh," I say dumbly. "Err…" '_Senketsu, help me out here!_'

_Illusions? Mirrors… reflections?_ Senketsu blurts out. _Mirages. Uhh, wishes. Dreams. Hallucinations. Schizophrenia?_

'_Okay, stop. Uhh…_' Slowly repeating what he had said, I pick out a word that sounds just about right. "Reflection! Reflection sounds good."

"Reflection…" Mako's eyes glaze over. She grins. "Ooh, that sounds _cool_, Ryuko! How'd you think of it?"

"…" I glance at the counter in front of us. "So, who do we give this to?"

Thankfully, Mako's attention span is short enough for her to welcome the topic change completely. "That one over there, the one in the middle… ooh, it's Clyde this time!" She points over towards a white and green pokemon who looks slightly taller than us, with two large… ears, I guess. He also has a long scar stretching from his right front shoulder to the end of his left chest.

"Clyde?"

"Yuuup~ Clyde Roberts or somethin' like that. He's a shaymin. Comes often, does odd jobs every now and then. He sings nice too! The townspokemon know him pretty well." Mako shoves the paper in front of my face. "Here! Go and talk to him and make some friends or whatever!"

"Uh… okay?" How do I hold the paper anyway? With my paws… hands… paws? I can't do that or I'll look like a complete idiot. Do I grab it with my mouth? I think I'll do that. Foxes do that, don't they?

I gently take the paper into my teeth, making sure not to get it wet, and bound over to the shaymin, placing the paper on the counter. Clyde (is his name, right?) snaps to attention and smiles absentmindedly at me. "Morning. So you're signing up for a rescue team? That's cool. G'luck… Ryuko?"

"That's me."

"Mm…" he stares at me. "Don't think I've ever seen you around before. Where you from?"

"Uh…" '_Senketsu! Town name that's kinda close to this place?_'

_Er… Eija Village?_

'_That'll do._' "Eija Village. Just moved here with the Mankanshokus."

"Ahh. I see." He stamps something on the upper left corner of the paper, where a big blank box had been. "They're a nice bunch. Their kids are real nice too… oh, you're making a team with Mako?"

"HI!" the sentret screams from her spot on the table. Clyde waves over to her without taking his eyes off the paper.

I nod. "I needed to make some money, I guess. Mako conveniently pointed that out to me."

"Hmm." Clyde rereads the content on the paper and cheerily hands it back to me. "Okay. Congratulations, Rescue Team Reflection! Here you go. Keep it for proof you're a rescue team, alright?"

"Okay." I pause. "… Hold on! I thought we were supposed to send this to the Pokemon… whatever it was Federation?"

He chuckles. "I'm associated with them, so I can handle these kinds of things fast. I do owe the Mankanshokus a favor for… helping me greatly, after all."

I hesitate. "… I won't ask, then."

"Thanks. The rescue team necessities should be delivered to your place in the afternoon, tomorrow at the latest."

I take the paper in my teeth again, dip my head in a bow of thanks, and get back over to where Mako is.

She looks surprised. "Weh? What happened? Were we declined before we even sent it to them? Ryuko! What did you say?!"

"W-Why are you blaming me?!"

"Well, you… talked to him…"

"…"

"Anyway!" Mako shouts. "So what happened, Ryuko? Did we actually get declined?"

"No. Apparently he's associated with the Federation, so he can do these sorta things. Easier for us, I guess." I shrug. I don't even care anymore if I'm a black fox thing and can shrug. Nothing's new here.

"Ohhh." Mako sighs in relief. "Good! O-kay, Ryuko, let's get started! Y'know, Mom needs more ingredients for food, but we don't have enough money to buy the groceries she needs right now."

"Please don't go where I think you're getting at," I plead.

Mako beams. "So, let's go find a job with a money reward! Then we can buy our food!"

I sigh. Of course Mako puts food as her priority. Oh, whatever. "Fine, fine."

* * *

"Here, Ryuko! This is the job bulletin board!" Mako points at a large wooden board filled with papers and job requests pinned on it. It's right outside the Post Office, maybe a little bit to the side. "To accept a job, just get a paper and give it to the pokemon in the Post Office. They'll stamp it with an official stamp-thing and you can go on to do the job."

"Huh." Easy enough. "So, uh, can we actually get a job now? I mean, we don't have the rescue team stuff just yet, so–"

"Nah, just pick one for now!" Mako grins. "We won't take it just yet. Maybe like find a job with lots of money for a reward. Then later, when we have our stuff, we can go and take the job."

"Well… alright, then." '_Senketsu?_'

_What, do you expect me to find you a job as well?_ Senketsu sighs. _Are you that hopeless?_

'_No. I just need your comments on the situation,_' I reply mentally. '_And mind the attitude or I'll kick your mental ass._'

Senketsu grunts and pauses for a bit while I pretend to look for a job on the board, Mako already dozing off beside me. After a while, he says, _You're best off getting that one. Your right… a bit higher… there. That one._

"'Help needed in the Eija Caves,'" I read. Mako snaps to attention at my side, bouncing around to see what I had gotten. "'I went in and got knocked out… can someone help me here? I'm on the last floor.' From… Nagot, a scraggy, with the reward of five hundred… poke?" Is that their currency here in the pokemon world? And… wait, 'Eija' Caves…?

"Those caves? Ooh, I've gone there with Matarou before!" Mako pipes up. "They're not all that hard if you have a type advantage. We should be fine!"

_It's also near Eija Village. You might as well live up to your excuse,_ Senketsu says. I sigh.

"Okay." I fold the paper as neatly as I can with my two unsteady paws and tuck it in the mane of black fluffy fur around my neck. I didn't know I could use my fur as one big pocket, but apparently I can, as it slips into the inky black hair and disappear.

Mako skips back to the town square. "Hmhm… _WHOA!_"

"What?!" What's the matter now?!

"Look, Ryuko! She's here! The Queen's here! Look, look!" the sentret looks near to hyperventilating as she repeatedly jumps up and down, eyes wide and face permanently fixed on a grin.

"Oh." I sigh in relief. God, did she really have to shout that loud to announce something like that? Obediently, I turn to look at where the so-called 'Queen' was.

And oh, _damn_.

* * *

**Look, guys! Here's your chance to vote for your Kill la Kill ship! I ship a lot of things, after all. Moreso with the incest. Not that they're sisters here. Or are they? I'm getting off topic and I'm probably spoiling everything, aren't I?**

**Word Count: 4570+. Longer than a fair amount of other chapters.**

**Sooooo. Clyde (WR Winters) and Drago (reven228) are introduced, along with Nagot (OPFan37), sort of. Rescue Team Reflection is created! Aaand... Senketsu and Ryuko get in a mini-argument. Well, that just provides some plot-related clues, though those who have watched KLK probably know Ryuko's last name already. So, eh. But Senketsu has a master wah. Who ever could it be. Hint: It's not Junketsu. Got that one out of the way, at least.**

**And the Queen, yay! The last line can be interpreted however way you like it, seeing as they are technically the Alakazam/Charizard/Tyranitar of the story so they've got the Four Devas + Queen herself. More to be explained maybe.**

**If you're a hopeless shipper like I am, you may as well send in who Ryuko's directing that 'hot damn u _fine_' sentence to. Arceus knows I'll go the incest route if none of you say anything. (Or the Ryumako route. That works too, right?)**

_**Slacker, 5/2/14**_


	4. Eija

**Sorry doesn't cut it, I know. Some notes:**

**- It's funny because like two people voted for RyuSatsu because they didn't want incest, but in Kill la Kill, Ryuko and Satsuki are sisters. [confusion intensifies]**

**- Everyone is gay for Satsuki. Swear.**

**- I don't remember how long I updated this so I'm really sorry. My internet died for like a week and I went on vacation for three days or so. My deep apologies to you all.**

**- There's a foreshadowing hint by Mako somewhere in the chapter. Props to you if you can spot it. Also, the direction of this chapter goes from lighthearted to really dark really fast, just sayin'.**

**- I forgot everything else I was going to say, oops.**

* * *

Okay so I'm kind of relating with Matarou right now.

Because let's be honest;

That person – pokemon, whatever – is a _babe_.

I don't know what kind of pokemon she is, exactly. She's a slim, quadruped mammalian pokemon with white-diamond shaped spots on her side, and this thick, purple mane that kind of reminds me of an aurora in the sky. Plus the two white, streamer-like ribbons coming from her back, and a hexagonal cerulean blue crest on her head.

Simply put, she is like a _queen_.

Also, I didn't put much thought in my sexuality before this, but I think I can safely assume I am one hundred percent gay. Lesbian, if we're going to be technical. Whatever. I don't care. Still…

She is a real pretty pokemon. That, I can tell.

"Ryuko~ are you still there? Have you converted to being a homo?" Mako asks, waving her paw in front of my face. I snap back to attention, nodding absentmindedly before I take into account what her question actually was.

"Wait! I mean, uh, I–"

"Don't worry, Ryuko!" She beams. "I go for girls too! Well, I like all genders, but I think I like girls a lot more."

And she feels perfectly fine telling this to a person – pokemon, sorry – she's known for half a day. Sometimes – scratch that, _all the time_ – I worry for this kid. Are we even the same age?

Now that I take a closer look, though, the Queen seems to be flanked by four other pokemon. One looks like this bipedal lizard primarily colored green and red, one is this absolutely _giant_ pokemon that kinda looks like a pig if I squint my eyes and tilt my head. The other two are a fox-like pokemon with yellow and white fur and a bird pokemon that sliiiightly resembles a parakeet.

"Er… who are they?" I ask. Makou, probably excited to explain, starts babbling.

"That one, he's Uzu! Uzu Sanageyama." She points at the green lizard, who, interestingly enough, has a bamboo sword in his right hand. "He's a grovyle. He's weird 'cause he uses a sword most of the time, and, like… does kendo or whatever, but he's a grass-type and hurts when he hits, so he's the main attacker of the team."

She points over at the giant pig-like pokemon. … Man, those are some big eyebrows… "That one's Ira Gamagoori! He's an emboar, and has suuuper high defenses. He's like the team's shield, and – get this! – he can expand and contract to change his size! Isn't that so cool? That's the smallest he can get, I think. I haven't seen him when he's at his tallest, but he's probably going to be as tall as at least fifty Ryukos when he does."

"Nice unit of measurement."

"I know, right?" She points over to the bipedal fox pokemon. Now that I look harder, he seems to have… glasses? And a really fuzzy white scarf? And is that a… laptop bag? What? "He's Houka Inumuta. He's a braixen, and doesn't really fight, but he's still good at it! His mind is like this huge database filled with knowledge and everyone says it's like he knows _everything_. He's the team's strategist."

Mako pointed to the parakeet pokemon. "That's Nonon Jakuzure! She's a chatot, and also a band major. She leads our town's flimsily-put-together band, the Ekans. She can do a lotta stuff, including fighting, defending, wrecking entire crime syndicates, and entertaining. She's the main… main… I guess she does a little of this and a little of that."

"And finally, that one – she's Satsuki Kiryuuin." She points over to the pokemon in the middle – the Queen. "She's a legendary pokemon, a suicune, and is renowned for having done… uh… tons of stuff! She has awesome leadership skills, battling skills, adventuring skills, and a ton of other skills I forgot. Oh, and she's really really pretty!"

"Duly noted."

"They're also the only known team in ever to be able to break the system and allow _five_ team members to enter a Mystery Dungeon at once! See, the limit is four, but all five of them can go in without having to make an official report or something equally boring. So their team's pretty cool!"

I nod without really paying attention. The group looks like they're just walking towards… us?! No, they're probably headed to the Post Office. "Mako, make way."

We step over to the side as several other pokemon watch them head over to the job bulletin board. The Queen – Satsuki, which I'm a hundred percent sure is her name because I don't forget names for people (pokemon) like her – examines the papers stuck on the board quietly before gently taking one off and handing it to the parakeet. She flies inside the Post Office and comes back out within a few minutes, rejoining the group as they make their way back down the street. The parakeet and the fox start talking with one another, which escalated to a squabble fairly quickly.

Satsuki leads the group through the street quickly, and – is that one of her ribbons in front of my face?! … It's really soft. Kinda like silk, but it's… an appendage. I don't know. What on earth is with pokemon anatomy anyway?

She halts in her tracks all of a sudden, causing the giant pig to stop abruptly as well. The lizard crashes on his back, along with the… braixen and chatot, was it? Satsuki turns over to look at – wait, me?! Me?! What did I do?!

"Ryuko! What's happening? Why's she looking at you?" Mako whisper-yells in a panic. She sounds like she may faint once more, which, to be honest, is pretty accurate for my emotions right now. "What'd you do? You didn't touch her ribbons, did you? The Queen doesn't like it when other pokemon touch her!"

"Oh God." The Queen takes one step towards me, her eyes a peculiar shade of dark blue. Wait, why am I looking at her eyes? I should be worrying for my life right now! Then again, if I get killed by her, then at least I know I lived a good life. I am so gay.

_Yes you are._

"Piss off," I hiss, making sure to keep my voice down. It turns out I am not very good at the art of keeping my voice down and there are several gasps from the onlookers. Satsuki's eyes widen some in surprise, too, but quickly narrow. Great, now I made her mad. What now, hero… ine?

Senketsu whistled. _You done screwed up now, Mankanshoku._

'_Shut up! This is your fault, you stupid – _'

"Excuse me."

Oh my God she has an amazing voice. It's like heaven bestowed the greatest of all voices they had and gave it to her when she was a baby. I can now die happy.

_Get a hold of yourself._

'_You don't tell me what to do!_'

_Maybe not, but she does._

I return to reality as Satsuki has an expression not dissimilar to Drago's from before; the one wherein if she has eyebrows, she would be raising them at around this point. But she doesn't have eyebrows. Nonetheless, she delivers the same message, which is 'what in the name of the poke-God does this peasant think she's doing, wandering off into her own world in my presence'. Not that I think someone like her would probably actually _think_ that, but –

"What is your name?"

Ohhhh my God she's actually talking with me. Right, maybe I should stop being a drooling idiot and actually answer. "Uh… R… Ryuko… Mankanshoku…"

She gets the eyebrow-raising expression once more. "A new addition to the Mankanshoku family?"

"Oh… uh… nah I'm kinda like… adopted…" '_Stop sounding like a depressed loner-child you idiot!_'

"I see." She pauses there, which I find a bit disappointing. I would want to hear her voice more… "Ryuko Mankanshoku. I'll remember that."

WHAT.

_WHAT._

'_Senketsu why are you 'what'-ing you don't have the right to what. I do. She just said she'll remember my name! What the hell?! I didn't even do anything worthy of this?!_'

_Shut up! I have every right to go what! I'm a part of you, damnit!_

"Uhh… uhh…" Before I can get any other word that isn't 'uhh' out of my mouth, she starts walking away. "W-Wait!" Oh, congratulations, me. I said something intelligent. She stops, turning to look at me expectantly, and I stammer out a half-assed question, "W-What's your name?"

Again with the eyebrow-raising expression. I don't particularly dislike it. "I would have thought you know that already, seeing as your friend… sister knows us quite well."

I open and close my mouth in an effort to _somehow_ get her name in her own voice, but she silences me (metaphorically; I wasn't saying much anyways) with a tiny little smile; or is that a smirk? I don't really know, but I like it. "It's Satsuki Kiryuuin, zorua. Now, good day."

Her little group walks out of sight within a couple more minutes. The parakeet shoots me a dirty look before she, too, disappears. I remain standing there, jaw on the ground, Mako beside me with a similar facial expression.

As expected, everyone watching breaks out into murmurs and, I bet, starts spreading rumors about how gay I am. Mako manages to force her jaw off the ground before I do, which is a new record despite it being only one day since we met. "RYUKO!"

"WHAT."

"No, but seriously, Ryuko!" She starts jumping in place. "That was so cool! What'd you do? She just walked up to you and talked to you! The Queen doesn't really do that on a daily basis and to just anyone! You must be super special!"

I try as hard as I can to roll my eyes and wave a paw in the air nonchalantly (thankfully, I keep my balance this time. I'm getting better at this). "P-Psh. Of course not. I mean, it's probably only because I poked her ribbon… appendage… thing. Or something. I'm not special, I just–"

"I don't caaaare what you saaaay!" Mako declares obnoxiously loud. "I'm not wrong on this one, believe me! The Queen sees something in you, so you're either special like I said or the Queen is hella gay!"

"What."

"It's a possibility! I mean, in yaoi manga, it takes the protags like fifty bajillion years to come to terms with their feelings–"

"What are you even saying?"

"Don't interrupt, Ryuko! This is very important! In yuri manga, it's just like everyone is gay, like I'm gay, you're gay, they're gay, your mom is gay, the sky is gay, Arceus is gay–"

"So, when do you start making sense?"

"Not in a long time!"

* * *

After that… uh, peculiar conversation, we head back home. I don't think I've ever described the Mankanshoku household before, but what I _can_ say is that it's… quaint.

It's basically a hole in the ground. It's like… a tunnel complex? Think anthill, except without the hill, just the many rooms. Mako says they make new rooms whenever they feel like it for ultra-specific reasons, like the paper-boats-folding room or the screaming-at-each-other-while-making-paper-boats room. They really like their paper boats. Well, more of Mako.

For some ungodly reason, however, the kitchen, living room, and dining room are all cramped in the same room, so there's barely enough space to fit around the dining table. It also appears as if Sukuyo's only known recipe are croquettes with questionable… uh, ingredients in them, but they taste alright so all's good.

Mako dug out a mailbox from their storage room and planted it just beside the entrance to the tunnel complex, declaring it our official mailbox for rescue team letters or whatnot. I don't think I was listening.

Seconds after I'd turned my back, though, a man-sized red-and-yellow ladybug crashlanded against our 'official rescue team mailbox' as Mako had dubbed it. The sentret let out a high-pitched shriek, which prompted me to whirl around and tense into a battle stance.

Then I saw that it was just an overgrown ladybug and relaxed considerably. Phew. If things had gotten bad then I could squash it.

Anyway, after Mako slapped a giant band-aid on the ladybug's forehead, he announced himself as Shinjiro Nagita, and has been assigned to be our team's official mail-ledian, which is apparently his species – a ledian. Well, it sounds like a corruption of 'ladybug', so I guess it makes sense.

Shinjiro dropped off a small pack of necessities for rescue teams and told us that he was once a journalist, but was fired because of running away instead of staying and defending his comrades in a rather difficult fight against an enemy that had infiltrated their base. As such, he was demoted to being a mailpokemon and is stuck with us for the time being, at least until he proves his worth again. Which, now that I take a closer look at him, seems kind of unlikely.

Mako pointed out the rescue team necessities first, which are apparently a treasure bag ("Super rare! It's like you can only find them in the black market if you don't wanna be in a team!"), team badges ("They help with… stuff. It's really useful… but I forgot most of what it does."), and a bunch of colorful berries, three each. Mako said I'd learn when it's needed and went on her merry way to the Post Office to get the job, which is… kind of worrying.

So, Shinjiro and I follow her over to the Post Office. Not really 'follow' – I guess it's kind of more like 'track her down'. It's easy because it's usually to just follow wherever the noise is coming from.

This time though, Mako barrels straight onto me, which makes me crash against Shinjiro, and then all three of us are just sailing through the air until the ledian behind me smacks against a tree. Ouch. That sounded painful.

Mako crawls off of me first and presents the job paper with a stamp on it proudly. "See, see, I got it! Cool, right? Clyde even wished us good luck!"

"Er… that's nice."

"Roberts?" Shinjiro gets the eyebrow-raising expression. It seems everyone in this place without eyebrows can somehow pull that look off. "So he's on duty today. I guess I need to get your papers ready. Good day!" Then he flies off back to the Post Office. How he can manage that with his probably snapped wings I don't know.

Mako turns back to me after waving goodbye to the ledian. "Do we go now, Ryuko? Let's go now! That's a good idea, right?"

"Don't we have to at least get ready?"

"You don't need to get ready if you have a natural immunity to ghost-types, Ryuko!"

* * *

Thankfully, the Eija Caves aren't very far from town. Southeast from Clockwork Coast, the Eija Village lies in a small ravine and surrounded by several lakes and rivers. A few ways away from there are the Eija Caves, the road leading there covered with rocks and bumps and is almost impossible to cross within an hour.

Of course, leave it to Mako to swing from the treetops with her tail and promptly crash in the middle of the Godforsaken road, making me have to hop, jump, and climb over fallen trees to reach the dizzy sentret. Goddamnit, Mako.

All while being lectured by a voice in my head that still hasn't gone away.

_Excuse me?_

Yup.

So after Mako took her time recovering from the fall (that somehow didn't damage her head any more than it already was – or was it already that damaged?), we continued on into the actual caves. Mako told me that the worst one could find there would be a big, hulking mass of rocks that is probably as dumb as what it's made of, so I supposed I don't need to be all worried.

* * *

_Eija Caves – Floor 1_

Okay maybe I should start worrying.

Sure, Mako's a pretty strong pokemon, so I don't need to worry about her. I have to worry about _myself_.

For God's sake I can't land a damn hit on _this stupid bat!_

It's blue with a presumably permanently open mouth and purple wings. Senketsu says it's a zubat, which is a really annoying name. Fits its annoying-ness to a T, I guess.

_You only hate it because you can't even touch it._

'_Shut up._'

Okay, so… it's been flying around for the past five minutes and I can't seem to even reach it. I can't fly, obviously enough, so I'm limited to trying to reach it from the ground somehow. The problem is that it rarely ever even goes anywhere near the stupid surface and it has long-range attacks by flapping its wings and sending sharp winds over at me, which I can't wrap my mind around. How can winds hurt?!

While I'm slowly getting worn down by the stupid bat, I can't even God-be-damned _near_ it. I am getting very, very irritated right now.

_And that's why I keep telling you that you should trick it, goodness. You can control illusions! Your whole _thing_ is illusions!_

Illusions. Illusions, illusions, illusions. '_And how?_'

_I'm not you. Figure it out yourself._

Very helpful as always, Senketsu.

But how _do_ I summon an illusion? Like Senketsu said, my whole thing is illusions. I'm supposed to be the master of illusions, deceptions, trickery, and lies. So why can't I? Maybe because I don't know how to start it.

The zubat flies over at me all of a sudden and I act on reflex, jumping towards it and slashing its face as hard as I can, blood spurting out of the screeching blue bat as it crumples to the ground. It twitches violently on the cave surface and I draw my claws against its face once more, pouring my frustration in the scratch. More blood pools around it and it gurgles, before finally going still.

_You killed it._ Senketsu sounds shocked. _You… killed it?_

"…" I stare down at the pokemon, its body already growing cold as the blood seeps into the floor. "I don't know. Why I can't just make 'em faint and not kill them. It's… so weird, and… freaky."

"Ryuko! Are you alright?" Mako calls. She hasn't noticed the body yet, and I figure that she doesn't need to. I scramble over to her quickly, making sure to distract her away from the zubat's general direction. She has a concerned expression on her face, strangely enough. "Are you okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Why shouldn't I be?" I ask, thankfully not stumbling over my words. If I show weakness now…

Mako smiles again, though it looks a tiny bit forced. "Okay, good. The stairs are over here, and it looks like this place is fairly small, so we won't be here for much longer." She turns around to scamper over to where the stairs are, but pauses after a bit. "Hey, Ryuko… are you scared of caves?"

"W… Why do you ask?" I stammered there. Goddamn – did Mako notice?

She turns to me, frowning. "Your paws are shaking. And your eyes look like they're really wide, like you're afraid of something. And your ears are twitching all the time like you're listening for a threat."

"I… don't… know…"

Is it true?

I glance down at my paws and Mako's right – they are shaking. I didn't notice before, but they are trembling and it feels like I'm going to collapse. I can't confirm the eyes-widening and the ears-twitching part, but if the first was correct, then I guess the other two are right as well.

"I guess… I guess so. Maybe. I… don't know…"

The sentret hesitates, before padding over next to me and bumping her forehead against mine, smiling reassuringly. "Don't worry. Y'know, pokemon, when they get scared, they can stop thinking all of a sudden and just… do things they wouldn't normally do. I don't know what you're afraid of, Ryuko! If it's the dark, or caves, or small places, or zubats, but don't worry! I'm here, Ryuko. So you'll be okay. I'm your friend!"

Then she pulls back and heads on to the stairs, which isn't too far from here. I can still feel my paws tremble, but it seems like they've lessened some, and the strain on my eyes that I hadn't felt before fades away. It's like my entire body relaxes just from Mako's words.

Senketsu sighs inside my head. _You are so gay._

'_You're not helping._'

Nevertheless, I follow my partner.

* * *

_Eija Caves – Floor 4_

The Eija Caves have six floors in total, with the sixth floor being the last and deepest part. That's supposedly where Nagot is, whoever he is. Mako leads the way most of the time, but always stays near me for some reason. I guess it's concern, which is really sweet considering we've just met.

There are, I find out, usually very many zubats in caves. They're incredibly common and everyone outside the zubat family believes they are also incredibly annoying. They can, however, be lethal when in close contact, as their skin apparently has a thin sheet of poisonous fluid that, when one comes in direct contact, poisons them slightly.

Well apparently, that doesn't include me, because I don't feel any different than before. Senketsu just rolls his mental eyes and mutters something about me being arrogant, though it really does feel that way.

All the wild pokemon so far are being knocked out by Mako, and this time, she doesn't leave any for me, which is nice of her. I really do not feel like fighting anything else today, even if it's still fairly early out. Or maybe it's really late already – I'm in a cave, remember?

Of course, that no-battling streak didn't last for very long.

Before Mako can get to it, a large, ghastly shape materializes _right in front of me_, separating me from Mako. The sentret squeaks in surprise, allowing two other balls of purple gas to assault her, leaving me to have to deal with the big thing alone. And let me tell you, that thing is _scary_.

I can't describe it in entirety because it's always appearing and disappearing, but what I can see is that it's got two giant claw-like hands that are always darting out to scratch me or something similar. The scratches don't actually hurt that much, if at all, but I can't touch it like the zubat from before so it's really getting on my nerves. Plus, the shaking in my paws came back for some reason, so even when I'm already near it, my paw falters and it disappears once again.

What is _wrong _with me today?!

_To your right!_ Senketsu calls. I turn to my right, claws at the ready, but it sticks its giant tongue out and –

_OH MY GOD IT JUST LICKED ME!_

I fling myself away from the thing, crawling backwards until my back bumps against the rock wall. I can hear the thing's laughter echoing through the cave and the sounds of fighting to the far left among Mako and the two other lesser pokemon. Senketsu repeatedly calls my name, but to be honest, I really can't do anything. I feel numb, like everything in my body just stopped moving. I can barely even breathe, and even the shaking in my paws stopped, though forcibly.

The pokemon nears me again, tongue hanging out and its big claws twitching restlessly. It eyes me and – hell, I can't even shift uncomfortably because my entire position is uncomfortable. Those eyes are just staring at me and it's really damn creepy!

Then it starts conjuring a dark ball of energy in its hands.

_You're screwed._

'_I'm screwed._'

And I'm scared.

My hind paws dig in to the ground like I'm preparing to attack. They shake.

* * *

"–ko! Ryuko! Are you okay?! Wake up!"

Ah what the hell.

I blink my eyes open blearily, catching sight of a brown shape above me, blocking out the light. Not that there was light anyway. Above that, there's a rock wall…

… Eija Caves… Mako… that pokemon!

I sit upright so fast I probably got whiplash but right now, I don't care. Mako looks okay, thank goodness, and the area seems to be completely splattered in red… blood.

What?

"Ryuko? Ryuko…" Mako stares at me. "Are you okay? Are you scared?"

"I'm…"

I'm trembling, but not as bad as the last time I can remember. "I don't think so."

"…" Mako doesn't say anything, just stares at me. "Okay."

She doesn't say anything else, so I take another look around the surroundings. The walls in particular have blood all over them, especially on a certain part. There are also what look like remains of tattered, black cloth everywhere, though I figure I don't want to know exactly what those are.

I return my attention to Mako, who bites her lower lip. "Okay. Okay… Ryuko, the stairs are here. Let's go?"

"Okay."

I follow her down the path. It's when I notice my claws are completely covered in red.

* * *

_Eija Caves – Floor 6_

Deepest part, darkest part. Mako has to feel her way around now, and her ears perk at everything. I follow close behind, trying to focus on the vague outline of her long tail.

Senketsu has been oddly silent ever since I woke up, which I figure is not a good sign. But I shrug it off and try to pass it off as him sleeping or something. I know he isn't – he's a voice in my head, he has nothing else to do but talk to me – but it's all I can do to assure myself something bad hasn't happened.

"Light! There's light up ahead!" Mako exclaims, relief in her voice. I sigh as well. "Come on, Ryuko! This way, this way!"

As we near the light source, I can see a faint shape that looks somewhat humanlike in appearance. Once we get closer, he kinda looks like… a young boy? Pokemon, though. Yellow skin and what look like pants. And, uh… red scales or some sort. I don't really know how to describe him properly.

"Ah! Scraggy!" Mako cries out. "Hey, you're Nagot, right? You sent this job request, didn't you?" She digs out the crumpled paper from a pocket in the treasure bag.

The scraggy – presumably Nagot – blinks and stares at the paper before nodding timidly. "Uh… yeah. I… guess so."

"You guess so?" I ask.

He shrinks slightly. Uh, was that not the right thing to say? Thankfully, Mako continues on without a hitch. "Well, we're Team Reflection! We're here to rescue you like you wanted!"

Nagot brightens. "Y-Yeah! That's, um, great. Thanks. I-I'm Nagot. Who're you?"

"Mako Mankanshoku! She's my sister, Ryuko. Nice to meet you!"

* * *

**Wowee, the things that happened this chapter, huh? Firstly, Word Count is at 4470+, which is acceptable. Buh.**

**Aight. So some points to raise are- wait. No, no need for that section. There aren't any plot-related things happening right now so no one needs to care.**

**Special thanks to Lunarium Prince for extra-long reviews! Coupled with Starry, you two are awesome reviewers. All hail.**

**Where was I? Ah, yes. So what happened this chapter... introduction of Satsuki and the Four Devas, hooray! Then there's our protagonists' mail-ledian, Shinjiro, who probably like 0.00001% of you remember (or 0%). I doubt any of you actually _do_ remember him, so to refresh your memory, he was part of the Newspaper Club before he got kicked off school grounds. Anything else I say might cause major spoilers for anyone who hasn't watched the show, so I won't go there.**

**Then there's Eija Caves. Ohhh no, Eija Caves, wherein Ryuko got scared and probably murdered a haunter or something. I don't know, man. I think I was brain-fried when I wrote that part too. Hah, who am I kidding, I don't know what I'm writing about half the time anyway.**

**Also Nagot. Yippee? He's our Magnemite of the story, if you couldn't tell.**

**Phew. We're done with that, thank goodness. Hope you had fun and I'm sorry for the long wait once again.**

_**Slacker, 5/15/14**_


	5. Dawn of a Strange New Morning

**Pre-Chapter Notes:**

**- I really slacked on this chapter... I was just busy replaying my Platinum game and another KLK/Pokemon crossover fic. I doubt that one will be getting anywhere near this site, but who knows?**

**- There is a long paragraph of fourth-wall breaking by the one and only sentret. It's composed of entirely three sentences.**

* * *

Mako used the team badge to teleport us all out of the Dungeon and back to the entrance of the Caves. I guess she remembered what those did. Anyway, we traversed back through the ridiculously messy path and by the time we got back to the Eija Village, it was already around eight pm. Mako declared that the three of us stay in the village for the night and ran off to phone her parents.

That reminds me, do pokemon actually have phones? I don't know what Mako went off to do, but I'm gonna assume it's something similar to calling her parents. Well, whatever.

The sentret comes back after a bit. "O-kay, we can stay here for now! Anyway, it's too dangerous to travel at night, so let's reserve night-travel for emergencies. And this isn't an emergency. I think?"

"Not an emergency." I nod.

"Oh, good!" she grins. "Right, where was I? Oh yeah. I know a cheap hotel we can stay in for tonight, so follow me!" With that, she scampers off on all-fours, Nagot and I trailing behind her.

* * *

Eija Village is one of the few places in the pokemon world with hotels, apparently. I don't know why, but it's probably because hotels take a hell of a long time to build for pokemonkind. It's none too grand, though, as it looks like it's built out of… wood? I don't know, it looks like wood, smells like wood, and feels like wood, so I guess it's wood.

Mako manages to scrounge up some money she probably didn't even know she had and gives it to the innkeeper, who looks kind of familia–

…

Wait a minute.

"Hey, it's you!" I exclaim, padding over beside Mako. The orange dragon from before near the Post Office, right! His name's, uh… Drago, I think. "You're that dragon dude!"

Drago nods, though I _swear_ he rolled his eyes a bit. "Yes. You're Ryuko, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"I help run Weather Inn. It's called as such because of the four owners of this place, all castforms," he explains, even though I don't really get it because in the first place, what the hell is a castform? Undeterred by my probably really confused expression though, he continues. "You're staying the night with her and your friend? You only have enough money for one room."

"Should be fine!" Mako says nonchalantly, even though Nagot's eyes widen considerably. "Anyway, it's not like we're gonna do the frickle frackle."

"The _what?!_"

She waves me off. Yeah, I thought so. Still, though, doesn't this girl have shame?

Drago stares at the sentret for a good long while before opening his mouth to speak. Right then, though, he was cut off by Mako. "And even if we _were_, how would we do it? Don't on-fours pokemon and on-twos pokemon do things differently? And–"

"OKAY YOU KNOW WHAT?" a pokemon that looked like the second green lizard of the day yelled. "WHY DON'T YOU TAKE THIS CONVERSATION SOMEWHERE ELSE."

* * *

To her credit, Mako forgot all about her monologue as soon as Drago dropped the keys in her hands and told her the room number. He probably just wanted to get her away from the other customers as soon as possible or this place would go bankrupt.

The sentret rushed up the stairs and left Nagot and I to follow her once again by tracking down where the loud exclamations of awe are coming from. And considering this place isn't very big, the task wasn't hard.

Nicely enough, she had waited for us outside our room, so at least we didn't have to wander around blindly until midnight. She practically trembles with glee as she inserts the key in the lock and it takes her another three tries before she can actually open the thing. When the door clicks open, she _bursts_ in and squeals an ear-piercing 'holy crap!' at the room.

Okay. I admit I wasn't expecting much, either because I've never been in a hotel when I was a human or it was because this entire building is made of wood and it's not likely that people expect much from a place made from wood.

But I have to admit this place looked a lot better than what I expected it to look like.

It's fairly big, maybe around three times bigger than the Mankanshoku household, with two single beds (neatly made bedsheets and pristine pillows… praise the poke-God…), a large desk with some stuff like a lamp and papers and all, and a huge window. And…

"It's a _balcony!_" Mako screams, clapping her paws over her mouth, eyes practically sparkling. "I can't believe this! It's so cool!"

She's already bouncing around on the balcony, and while it isn't very high up, I still get the feeling she'll fall off and break her tail or something, so I go next to her and take a look around. The balcony isn't that big, either, but it's sizable enough that it's also comfortable. Mako gets distracted by some stuff on the table, but I'm more worried about the sleeping arrangement, as voiced (sort of) by Nagot.

The scraggy is fiddling with the edge of his… pants? They look like pants, but by the way they're connected to his feet (or whatever those are – I _think_ they're his feet? I'm not sure? Pokemon anatomy is so confusing.), I guess they're acting like a second skin. Anyway, he fiddles with the edge of his skin. … That sounds wrong… I'll stick with pants.

"Should I sleep on the floor?" he squeaks out timidly.

"Uh… no. You're our client. If we let you do that, you might decrease the pay."

"I w-wouldn't…" he says, even though I still kind of doubt it.

Mako pops in there. "You're not sleeping on the floor! Ryuko and I are sleeping together, and you can sleep in the other bed! That way you won't need to lower our pay and I can buy Mom's groceries!"

Nagot opens his mouth for whatever reason (because I'm not sure a protest is what may have come out), but thinks better of it and keeps quiet. He nods with a small, slightly forced smile, but thankful anyway.

Well, at least we get a guarantee of the promised money…

* * *

With much prayer to the poke-God, who I still don't know the name of, Mako wakes up earlier than me, even by a smidgen. I barely got an hour of sleep last night. Small mercy that Mako and I share separate beds in her home – how on earth does she move that much in a single bed and _not_ fall over? Actually, she did fall over once, I think, maybe twice if that sound during the night wasn't the lamp. I helped her back up the first time, but I don't remember the second...

"Wow-wow, it's raining hard!" the sentret's all-too-familiar voice squeals from the balcony. Since she's not complaining, I guess there's a roof over the balcony or she's completely drenched and doesn't notice it. Nagot voices his opinion quietly, but even with my heightened sense of hearing, I don't hear him, mainly because I've rolled on my side and covered myself with the blanket. Time to get some _proper_ sleep until the rain lets up because I'm definitely not going out in that weather –

"Let's go already, Ryuko! I don't wanna be late!"

Nnnnoo_oooooo_…

* * *

Somehow, Mako managed to drag me out of bed. I'm proud to say I fought until my last paw slipped from the bedsheets. At least I tried, right?

The sentret borrowed some umbrellas from the inn that are too tiny for one person – pokemon to fit in, but there were only two available, so all three of us have to squeeze underneath two tiny umbrellas. Thankfully, the walk back to town is fairly short and free of mud, so we made it out relatively clean (but still drenched. Obviously).

When we get back to Mako's place, it's raining way too hard for Nagot to even bother thinking to go outside, so the scraggy is pretty much forced to stay in here until the rain lets up. Right now, he's sitting near the dining table, back rigid and posture looking painfully perfect. Sukuyo is humming a soft tune while she prepares lunch in the kitchen, which I'm fairly sure are croquettes. Again. In varying flavors and tastes.

Mako dries herself off with a rag that has seen better days, squeezing the water out of one of her ears. I'm still making puddles below me, but I don't think anyone minds nor cares, so I'll just wait for Mako to finish. Anyway, that's probably the cleanest rag they have around here, and the _only_ rag, since Matarou had gone out a while ago and lost their other one. Or so Sukuyo says.

_Ryuko._

Oh, he's back. '_What took you, Senketsu? You just disappeared off the face of my mind._'

He's silent for a while before responding. _A matter came up. It's none of your business._

Well, someone woke up the wrong side of the bed, judging from his cranky tone. I don't press the matter any further though, mainly because I'm scared he'll go all Chapter 2 on me again and make me guilty or something. … Wait, what did I just say? Chapter 2? Where the hell did that come from?

"You just broke the fourth wall, Ryuko!" Mako suddenly pipes up from behind me. "I'm so proud of you!"

Nagot and I stare at her like she grew another tail. Then we both just turn away from her slowly and refocus on what we had been doing.

After lunch, in which Nagot tried to understand what was inside the croquettes (and failed utterly) and Barazou had come back home late from forcibly dragging Matarou away from a bunch of thugs, the rain seemed to lighten into a steady drizzle. We brought out the umbrellas again because Mako didn't want to catch a cold and walked the way to where Nagot's house is.

… Well, I can't really call it a house. It's more like a… temporary settlement until he gets the funds to get an actual house. It's situated on the edge of Clockwork Coast Town, just behind the Post Office. It's practically made out of twigs, leaves, and branches, with just a barely intact roof. Nagot frowns a bit once he sees the pitiful state of his settlement, but tells us to wait outside so he can get our promised money.

The moment the small bag of five hundred poke is dumped in Mako's paws, the sentret squeals in excitement and drops the umbrella she was carrying, leaving it to jab one of its ends sharply on my forehead. I'm barely even fazed.

_Show-off,_ Senketsu mutters. I ignore him.

Nagot bows politely. "Uh, y-yeah, thanks for helping me out. I owe you one." He looks back up at me (not Mako, because the idiot is dancing happily with the money in her hands).

I nod. "Yeah, our pleasure, I guess."

We exchange goodbyes and Nagot retreats back into his settlement (I honestly cannot think of it as a house. It doesn't even have a door!) while I bring Mako back to the living world and follow her to the grocery store. I bring out the shopping list she had gave me before from my mane (it's still kind of unnatural to have this giant fluffy pocket around my neck?) and just kind of lag behind her and push the shopping cart while she babbles on about the ingredients she grabs off the shelves.

Once we're done, she's exhausted three hundred of the five hundred… poke? Poke is their currency, right? Okay, poke. So as I was saying, she's exhausted three hundred poke from our previous five hundred and has me carry the two positively giant plastic bags on my back. Mako shows some sympathy halfway through the walk back home, though (mainly because I feel like collapsing and just laying there on the cold ground for three days) and drags one of the plastic bags behind her herself.

And then a thing happened.

"Aaaannd OHMYGOSH, Ryuko look, the Queen's here again!" Mako squeals, pointing excitedly at the suicune in front of us, surrounded by pokemon. Doing that, she accidentally lets go of the plastic bag she was holding and drops it on her foot, effectively causing the sentret to squeal again for a different reason. I just stand there and stare at the Queen with my mouth open like an idiot. Oh, my God, am I drooling?

_Wipe that saliva off your face,_ Senketsu says, sounding quite disgusted. _You look like some lovesick teenager._

'_I am a teenager. I'm seventeen._'

… _Shut up._

Well, I wasn't _technically _saying anything in the first place, so that statement was redundant. Ryuko 1, Senketsu 0. Beat that, disembodied voice in my head who seems to serve little purpose besides nag me!

…

Senketsu doesn't reply. Fine, give me the silent treatment again, see if I care.

ANYWAY. Right, where had I been before I started playing the mess-with-Senketsu game again? … Right, right, the Queen and her ethereal beauty. I swear…

It doesn't look like she's accompanied by anyone except the parakeet this time, who is comfortably sitting on that giant crest of hers, looking quite smug about herself for some reason. Satsuki is being swarmed by pokemon, but her long, white ribbons keep everyone a safe distance away from her, strangely enough. Well, that's one way to keep others from touching you, I guess?

"So… what's she doing here this time?" I ask once I've regained my voice. Mako looks up from cradling her stubby foot and tilting her head… body at me.

"I dunno… oh! I bet she's gonna check up on the Two-Star District again. They give her reports every week, and today's the day they're supposed to give her another report on the state of… whatever needs reporting."

"Two-Star District?"

Mako nods. "Yeah! See, we have festivals every year, y'know? And we were just getting ready for this year's festival when this weird pokemon absolutely _wrecked_ town! The damage was so bad that even though every single pokemon here was helping out, they couldn't possibly fix it back in time for the festival. But then the Queen came!" Mako's eyes are practically sparkling by this point. "She and her Four Devas – that's what she calls her four super-cool pokemon – helped fix this town back up good as new in lightning speed! The entire village owes a hella lot to her!"

"Ohh…" I guess that's why pokemon tend to crowd her.

"She also made these three districts; the One-Star District for the normal townspokemon, the Two-Star District for the pokemon she hires for… something or other, and the Three-Star District, where she and the Four Devas live." Mako's frown suddenly turned into a slight frown, which didn't fit with her face. Or maybe I'm just used to seeing her with a smile. "They say there's a sixth resident in the Three-Star District, but nobody's ever gone there and come back in one piece. So we don't know for sure."

Then her frown morphs rapidly into a grin. Is… Is that healthy for her facial muscles? "Well, it's none of our business, so we're a-okay! Ryuko, wanna go talk to her?"

"What? You can just do that?" I ask. I would think someone like the Queen wouldn't just accept someone walking up to her and talking to her casually…

"Sure, why not? Here, Ryuko, I'll show you how it's done!" Then she grabs my paw and runs off towards the direction of the Queen WAIT WHY IS SHE TAKING ME TO HER OH GOD. Mako pays no mind to my internal panic and shoves me right there in front of the Queen, leaving me about to get a heart palpitation.

Satsuki gets the eyebrow-raising expression. "Oh, it's you… Ryuko."

She remembers my name! She remembers my name oh God. My name sounds ten times better in her voice. "Uhh…" Say something smart, you dumb idiot. "Hi." Could be better. "Nice to see you, Q-Q-Queen!" I am going to scream and yell at myself for years on end.

She dips her head in a bow of some sort? Something like… well, I don't really know. Acknowledgement? "To you as well. Is there something you need?"

"Uhh… uhh…" It's getting hard to think with that parakeet glaring down at me like I've done something against her lady. Erm… fine, I give in! '_S-Senketsu…?_'

_Alright. _I can just _hear_ the smirk in his voice. _I thought so. Can't survive in this world without me, honestly._

'_Just give me something to work with already!_'

_Pushy, aren't you? Alright… you've got two choices. It's either you tell her she's pretty–_

'_WHAT IS THE SECOND CHOICE._'

_Goodness… it raises a girl's self-esteem when you call her pretty, you know? The second choice is that you ask her what she's going to do for the day._

I hesitate. It's obvious I should pick the second choice, because it's way easier, but the first choice nags at me to tell her she's pretty because, well, she's pretty as all heaven! But…

"U-Uh, no. Not really. I just – just wanted to, to uh, to ask you what you're d-doing for the day!" I nearly shout out the last word, mainly because I think I'm about to go into cardiac arrest from how fast my heart is pounding. The parakeet opens her beak to squawk something out at me, but Satsuki beats her to it.

She has a small half-smile on her face that makes me want to swoon. "Thank you for asking. I'm about to go collect the reports from my Two-Star District Captains about the town's conditions and statuses." She frowns slightly. "Hopefully, the reports are positive. Gamagoori has told me that there will be a high number of visitors and tourists by the next month, and I wouldn't want to scare our sources of income away…"

_It's May right now,_ Senketsu helpfully says.

"Lady Satsuki, you care so much about this place's townspeople even though you don't have to!" the parakeet chirps, her voice having this kind of melodious tune to it… even though it was incredibly high-pitched and almost squeaky.

The suicune tilts her head up slightly, just enough to see the parakeet peering down at her. "Yes… well, I can't abandon them. If I've helped them once, I can surely help them out a second, third, fourth, and fifth time." She turns to look back at me, and I hope she doesn't see my really wide eyes. I like her neck, too… er. Don't get distracted, Ryuko…

Satsuki bows her head towards me once again. "It was nice talking to you. Have a nice day, Ryuko." Then she walks away, the crowd of pokemon following after her as she goes south.

Cue me standing there for an unbelievably long amount of time while staring at the distance.

Mako came back once I had started making a puddle on the cobblestone path with my drool, which I hastily wiped away once I saw her coming over. The sentret hops around me excitedly, grinning like the weirdo she is. "So? So? What happened? What'd she say? What'd _you_ say?"

"Uh. Uhh. Uh," I respond intelligently.

"Don't just 'uh' me, Ryuko! Here, let's go back home. You can tell me all about what happened after I give Mom the food!"

* * *

"… and she… uh… went away, I guess," I finish, letting out a long sigh of relief. Mako had practically forced me to spill everything that happened. I tried telling her it wasn't worth listening to (because I'm about a hundred and one percent sure I would just start babbling about the divinity that is Satsuki Kiryuuin halfway into the story), but she made me tell her anyway. Mako herself has her paws over her mouth as she rolls around on her bed like a kid while giggling for some reason I can't comprehend.

"Eek, Ryuko, you're so bad at this!"

… I wasn't expecting that?

"You should have told her she was super pretty today! That would have been a lot better than what you said!"

…

_Told you._

'_You keep quiet._'

Anyway, the conversation dwindles down from there, which I'm only too thankful for. Sometime at five, Sukuyo starts making dinner, with Mako and I knowing without being told because the smell is way strong for a bunch of croquettes. Mako had gone to snatch another job request for tomorrow, and came back with… with…

"Rescue someone from the top of a mountain, yeah whatever. Reward is WHAT THE FU–"

"Ryuko!" Mako chastises for whatever reason because just…?! Seriously, what is this?! "There are children reading this! Actually, there probably shouldn't be any children reading this because if there's a reason anyone is reading this it's because they like Kill la Kill or they have read Miss Slacker's stories before and besides that there's no other reason for anyone to be reading this. And children below the age of thirteen aren't allowed on this site and shouldn't be watching Kill la Kill anyway because–"

"Mako. Shut."

"Okay, Ryuko!"

"Ugh…" Okay, Ryuko. You can do this. Just look down at the reward list again, breathe normally, and try not to let the whole of Clockwork Coast Town learn thirty new swear words they didn't know could be pronounced in pokemon tongue…

"Reward is… is…"

"It's two thousand poke and three each of the five main berries. Spit it out, Ryuko!"

"Mako. I told you to shut."

"Yeah, you did, but you wouldn't say what the rewards are, so I helped out!"

I give out a long, long sigh. "Just… let's go eat dinner, right?"

* * *

"Nonon. I've an errand to do. Please wait outside, I won't take long."

The chatot nods, then hops to the side and starts preening her feathers. Satsuki smiles and steps through the double doors.

As soon as they close behind her, the only light source of the room – that is, outside – cuts off and disappears, leaving the room bathed in inky black darkness. Satsuki lets out a shaky breath, taking a tentative step forward, then pausing.

Something whispers to her. She grits her teeth, mutters _I know_, and continues on, paws lightly padding on the cold metal ground.

Another whisper. She grumbles harshly to it, stopping abruptly, then continuing.

And once she reaches the end of the room, she stops without interruption and stares forward at the black wall. Writings are engraved on it, too small and intricate to be read properly.

_It's happening. It's really happening,_ the voice whispers.

'_I know… Junketsu._'

* * *

**(laughs nervously) What... What do you mean it's been a week? Of course not... hahaha...**

**On a side-note, I've managed to catch a suicune in my Platinum and named it Satsuki. Currently, while I play it, Satsuki is destroying everything in sight. Of course she is, she's Satsuki.**

**Uhh... where was I? Right, Word Count: 4k words. Not even reaching 4100. Wow, this is pathetic. Hey, at least I reached my average? Oh well.**

**Anyway. Let's take a look at what happened this chapter.**

**Weather Inn, co-run by Drago! Then Ryuko and Mako sharing beds while Nagot sleeps on the other. Alone. Poor guy, missing out on the lesbian action fun. And then we get our money after who knows how long, and... OOOH. Ryuko's second conversation with the Queen that probably gives Satsuki the impression this zorua's gone off the deep end. And of course, everyone's favorite part: Mako's _huge-ass_ fourth wall breaking. I did not know it was possible to break the fourth wall that bad until I wrote Mako. Seriously.**

**Also some plotty stuff with Satsuki and whoever this Junketsu person/pokemon is. Rather, judging by the name, he/she's probably related to Senketsu somehow, but we'll never know.**

**Okay I think that's it. Wow, better edit the summary now...**

_**Slacker, 5/22/14**_


	6. Mutilation

**Pre-Chapter notes:**

**- Hooray, shipping.**

**- Hooray, longer chapters.**

**- Hooray, for Omega Zekrom for giving my muse a good influence.**

**- Hooray, deliberately misleading chapter title. This chapter is not as dark as you may think, promise.**

**- Hooray, no proof-reading until tomorrow because apparently I really like updating this fic in the Goddamn midnight. I'll make sure to properly fix up any mistakes tomorrow morning, swear.**

* * *

The next day, I'm wide awake because I haven't slept a wink for the entire night. Mako is sleeping quite soundly beside me, which is a good sign. I do not want her babbling my ear off for now.

Two thousand poke and… berries that are probably helpful. I'm almost scared to see who the requester is. Must be some rich gal.

Or… no, wait. It can't be… Satsuki, right? No way, right? Not in a million years, right? She's part of a renowned rescue team, there's no way that she'd put up a request… right?

_You're overthinking things again._

JESUS SHI… oh, it's Senketsu. '_When did you get here? You were gone for a long time there._'

_I went to sleep,_ he says simply. Yeah, I kind of doubt that, but he's a voice in my head. He can do whatever he wants so long as it doesn't kill me. _It's only two thousand and berries. If it were the Queen, I'm sure she would put up a bigger reward._

Good point there. But still… it might be the Queen in disguise? Nah, it's probably not the Queen at all. '_You're right, I guess. Thanks._'

Senketsu hums softly and lets the subject drop. A silence settles in as the sun peeks over the horizon outside the window. (Yes, there's a window underground. When I asked Mako how that is physically possible, she just winked and whispered 'secrets of the trade!'. So I don't want to know anymore.)

… I can feel Senketsu glaring at me somehow. _Don't tell me you haven't slept at all since last night._

'_Of course I did,_' I lie, even though I'm fairly sure he'll see right through it. '_I just woke up early today. Is all._'

… _Very well._ … What, are you serious? He fell for it? He sounded kind of confused there for a bit… maybe it's my illusion powers or something. Hey, that's right!

'_Hey, Senketsu?_'

_What?_

'_So like, I was wondering… how do I actually do all this illusion stuff? I mean, that's… that's like, my thing, right?_'

_I'm not sure…_ Senketsu mulls it over for a bit before continuing._ I suppose you'll just have to try it out yourself. Maybe those only activate if you are under pressure. Or maybe when you're in danger?_

'_Are you getting at something here?_' I ask (think?) excitedly.

… _Probably._ I can almost feel Senketsu grimacing for some reason. This… isn't going to be good, will it. _Well, in my defense, you brought this upon yourself._

'_Wha–_'

* * *

_Dark. It's dark._

_Cold and dark and… I can't see._

_I wanna get out…_

_It's so dark… I'm so cold…_

_Help me!_

* * *

'_ARGH!_'

I'm still here, right?

I'm still alive, right?

I…

I'm not alone in this dark, right?

… Looking around, it seems I'm back in my room with Mako, who's still sleeping peacefully beside me. So nothing happened? I'm safe?

Right… right, okay. I'm alright… alright…

'_Senketsu! What… What the hell was that?!_'

He had something to do with that! He did… did _something_ to me but I don't know what, he just… he just _did!_

Senketsu doesn't reply for a long while, but when he does, I can almost feel my blood boil. _What happened?_

'_What do you mean 'what happened'?! You're the one who… who did that, whatever it was!_'

… _What was it?_ He asks, sounding almost skeptical.

'_I… I don't know! It was dark and cold and stuff. That's it! So what'd you do? Some kind of mind control? Tell me or so help me I'll–_'

_Enough,_ he grunts. Surprisingly enough, I feel myself shutting up. _You asked about your illusion powers. Don't you see? You just summoned an illusion._

'_I… what?_' He's being confusing again, isn't he. I'm a hundred and one percent sure.

_Take a look at yourself,_ Senketsu advises.

Uh, well, okay. Whatever you say, voice in my head who gives rather questionable information. Nevertheless, I take a look at my paws, which I've grown accustomed to seeing WHOA!

It's, like, pink! It's pink and white and it's got a ribbon around it, I think! Wait, what? Ribbon? And… why am I pink and white? What?

'_What?_' I think eloquently.

Senketsu almost rolls his eyes. Almost. _You've transformed into a fairy-type pokemon, specifically, a sylveon. Those are pokemon super effective against the dark. Don't worry, this isn't permanent, sadly._

'_Fairy-type? Damn, I sound girly,_' I mutter mentally, turning around painstakingly to get a better look at myself. I'm primarily covered in pale, cream-colored fur, with pink ears, tail, and feet. Then there's the matter of the ribbons…

The fluffy black fur around my neck before had changed into a pink ribbon with white tips extending into long… what, feelers, I guess? There's also one on my left ear, one of the feelers encircling my other ear.

'_I look like some Goddamn thirteen year old,_' I spit. Senketsu chuckles dryly, then sighs.

_You transformed into this pokemon because of the instinct to repel the darkness. Strangely enough, you are a dark-type pokemon yourself, being a zorua. You're… strange._

'_Gee, thanks._'

_Anyway…_ Senketsu huffs. _Do you… know how to turn back to your zorua self?_

'…' Oh God. '_You didn't tell me I had to change _back_!_'

_What the hell?! What do you mean? You never asked to be able to change back!_

'_Well, what the hell am I supposed to do now?! No way in hell am I going to be stuck like this forever, will I?!_'

_I – I don't know! Figure something out!_

'_Oh yeah? Like wha–_'

"Excuse me," a bone-chilling, and yet familiar, voice asks, malice dripping with each syllable. "but who are you, what are you doing here… and where's Ryuko?"

I turn around slowly, almost afraid of who's behind me. And then it's… it's literally Mako. It's Mako, standing there _on two feet_ (she literally cannot stand on two feet despite that supposed to be common for sentrets) and looking dangerously murderous. What – What have I done to deserve this? Death by ball of brown fluffy fur with ears and eyes and a mouth?

"I'm – I'm–"

"You're what?" Mako asks, her face unreadable.

"Ryuko," I breathe. "I'm Ryuko. I just transformed. It's okay–"

"_Whaaaaat?!_" Mako screeches – Jesus Christ and all other deities what is up with this girl and her mood swings! "But the Ryuko I know isn't pink and white and ribbony all over!"

"Yeah – Yeah, exactly. I was just… just, uh, practicing. Practicing my illusion powers and stuff. And I transformed into… this… this thing." I awkwardly gesture to myself. "And now I don't know how to turn back."

"Hmm…" Mako peers at the ribbon on my chest. Right, she thinks my mane is fun to lie down on… "Well, it'll be no problem! Anyway, you'll change back sometime, right?"

"Hopefully."

"See, then you'll be a-okay!" She grins. "C'mon, Ryuko, let's get some breakfast then meet up with our client!" With that, she rushes off out the door and yells a good morning to Sukuyo, who I guess is already awake as the smell of croquettes wafts into the room. Ah, well. Might as well, even though it's like, what… six in the morning? Seven? Why don't pokemon have freaking clocks in here?

* * *

After breakfast and a hurried explanation as to my appearance, Mako brings out the letter again and heads off to the Post Office to get it stamped. Without much choice, I follow her.

It turns out that white-green dude is at the counter again (uh… Clyde is his name, right? I don't really remember) and he makes some small talk with Mako before stamping the letter with a big bright red seal. Before the two of us can exit the Post Office, though, the overgrown, man-sized ladybug shows up again.

"Ah, you're awake?" he asks, flitting about above our heads. He spots me and instantly flips out, backing away several inches with wide eyes. Well, wider eyes than usual, at least. "W-W-Who is _that?_"

"This is Ryuko!" Mako says. "She was practicing her illusion powers and accidentally transformed into this weird thing. What's the matter?"

"Are – Are you _sure_ this is Ryuko?" Shin… Shin… come on, Ryuko, you got this! Remember his name! … Shinjiro, riiiight! Okay, where was I? Right, right. Shinjiro looks suspicious of me, which I find kind of weird. I mean, I'm literally a pink and white dog with ribbons. I look the very epitome of cute and harmless. "You're absolutely sure?"

"Actually, I'm not!" Mako answers shamelessly. Shinjiro makes a choking sound and almost faints. "But I think I can trust her. She seems a lot like Ryuko, and I know Ryuko better than anybody in here!"

… I wonder if that's a good thing or a bad thing.

Shinjiro squints at me with suspicious eyes, before nearing us a little bit. "Fine, I'll take your word on it, Mankanshoku. But be cautious. That pokemon who attacked our base… she's of the same species as you."

There's a chill running down my back again, even though I'm honestly not actually scared of this somebody. Senketsu grunts at the back of my head, so I suppose _he's_ the one scared of whoever this somebody is. Wait… hm, I'll just ask him about it later.

Mako nods vigorously, saluting. "No prob, I'll know who Ryuko is from anyone! I'm her best friend, after all!"

Best friend…? That's kind of sweet.

"Anyway, I'm sure Ryuko would look a loooot cuter than the other pokemon."

…

_She has the hots for you._

'_Senketsu. No._'

Shinjiro just shrugs before lifting a satchel of some kind over his shoulder, then flying off with a chaste goodbye. I guess he's off to deliver stuff. Well.

"Okay, Ryuko! Let's go! The client said she'll be at the entrance of…" Mako peers at the paper, holding it almost dangerously close to her eyes. "I… I can't read this. Ryuko, what is it?"

"What? You're illiterate?" I take the paper from her with my feelers, which seem to act as my hands now, actually. Well, good, now I don't have to act all awkward with my mouth and stuff.

"Nope, I just don't have the best eyesight," Mako says, laughing sheepishly. "Anyway, that's not the point! Take a look, can you read it?"

"Uh, yeah. At the entrance of…" What on earth is this place? It sounds way creepy! "At the entrance of… of… okay, what the hell?!"

"What? What's the problem? You can't read it?" Mako asks worriedly.

"No! It's just…" I sigh heavily. These pokemon sure have a weird way of naming their places! "Why the hell would anyone name this place the Mutilation Mountain?!"

* * *

_Mutilation Mountain – Entrance_

Mako skips ahead cheerily ahead of me. I don't know how in the name of the poke-God can she manage that with this atmosphere, because… seriously! One doesn't just skip around cheerily in a place called _Mutilation Mountain!_

I admit, the alliteration makes it sounds nicer than it's supposed to be. Still, though.

Mako says that this place is way dangerous and nobody has stepped foot in the mountain for a long time, save the wild pokemon who seem to be able to adapt to any condition. Speaking of, the mountain is called this for a reason; because of the wild pokemon. Mako won't elaborate anymore than that, so I kind of worry for what's going to happen! Are we going to get mutilated by the wild pokemon? And that's the best case scenario!

Eventually, Mako reaches the entrance of the mountain and starts chatting it up with some pokemon who looks like a freaking bright orange monkey with some cream markings and gray streaks in her fur. Strange monkey.

"Oh, Ryuko! Come on, come on, hurry up!" Mako calls. I hesitantly walk faster, though with the way that monkey is glaring at me, I don't think I _want_ to walk faster. I reach them anyway. Mako gestures at the monkey. "This is Ashley! She's a chimchar, and our client. Ashley says that her friend was kidnapped by this weird psychic bat and was carried to the top of the mountain. So we have to go rescue him!"

"Uh… okay." I nod, then turn over to look at this Ashley. Yep, still glaring at me. "So, uh, we'll help you out, then? Don't worry, this shouldn't take very long."

… Still glaring. God, why does she hate me so much? I haven't even done anything to her! "Er… is there a reason why you're staring at me…?"

"Fuck off," she snaps. _Wow_, rude. "Just get him back and you'll get your pay. That's all that matters for you guys, right?"

Mako frowns and shakes her head. "No way! We wanna help you out too! I mean, we're a rescue team, and–"

"Shut up!" Ashley growls. Hey, I'm really starting to hate this girl. "I don't care about your friendship shit. Or, as I like to call it, friendshit." Wow. Going overboard there now. "Just hurry up and get him back already before I tear your annoying fucking ears off."

Can I punch her in the face yet?

Mako's frown deepens, but she nods anyway. "Right, we'll get him back. Just you wait!" With that, she motions for me to follow her and she scampers off into the mountain. I shoot the chimchar one last dirty look – which she returns with ease – before I follow in after Mako.

* * *

_Mutilation Mountain – Floor 1_

"Well, something crawled up her ass," I say as soon as I'm sure we're out of earshot. Mako giggles but shakes her head.

"Nah, I'm pretty sure it's just because her friend's in danger. She must be really worried about him!"

That girl? Worried for someone? For some reason, I can't see that. At all. Wonder why, huh?

_Ryuko,_ Senketsu's baritone voice pipes up. _Your blood level is getting high. Don't get frustrated over your client, or you won't be able to focus on the mission properly. Do you want a repeat of last time to happen again?_

Last time… yeah, I definitely don't want that to happen again, whatever it was. I sigh. '_Right. Thanks, Senketsu._' After a thought, I add, '_You know, for a voice in my head who I still don't know whether it's imaginary or not… you can be useful at times._'

Senketsu hums, and maybe if he could, he would smile there. I don't know. But I can hear a smile in that hum.

* * *

_Mutilation Mountain – Floor 4_

I thank the poke-God(s) that we haven't met a single wild pokemon since the first floor.

Mako has been oddly quiet, only speaking up whenever she wants to tell me something about the surrounding area or to alert me of something or other. Apparently, instead of going down like the former Dungeons, we're going up to the mountain's peak. I guess that makes sense.

I don't know why she's being quiet, though? Maybe that Ashley killed her mood. Well, there's another reason to hate her. Hm…

"Hey, Ryuko?" Mako suddenly speaks up.

"Yeah?"

"You know… it's really weird. I've only gone here once or twice, but it's usually always filled with wild pokemon. I mean, not that I'm complaining or anything! But it's so weird, because, like… when an area seems empty of wild pokemon, that usually means that they're all gathered someplace else, right? Are they planning to ambush us?" Mako's voice takes on a worried tone, which is really unsettling. "The wild pokemon here are real tough, Ryuko! I always come here with Matarou, and he's good at fighting, but, uh… no offense, here, but you're not really all that good, are you?"

I shake my head. "Uh, nope." It's true, anyway.

"Yeah, okay. I can't take a whole ton of 'em by myself! I mean, I can maybe take on five at a time, but four whole floors without pokemon?" the sentret shudders. "I don't think so! Ryuko, hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure?"

"Ryuko…" she stops walking and turns to face me slowly, head down slightly. "Ryuko, when we get in a fight that we can't win, will you have my back?"

"What?" the sudden question just kind of catches me off-guard! I mean, of course my answer is yes, but… "Yeah, of course. But… why ask this?"

Mako smiles a little bit. "There's gonna be a time when we're gonna get in a fight that we can't win. At all. No matter how hard we try, we're gonna be killed, or eaten, or something to that extent. Can you promise me something really big? When that time comes, will you stand by my side?"

"…" I hate it because I hesitated. "Yeah. Yeah – of course. Of course, Mako. It's the least I can do for everything you've done for me. Of… Of course."

She smiles a little bigger this time, but I can see the happiness oozing out of her like nothing I've seen before. "Even if we're gonna die? Even if you're gonna have your limbs tore off and your intestines smashed to pieces and your lungs clogged with blood and your eyes gouged out and stepped on? You'll be there for me and I'll be there for you… we'll be there for each other, right?"

I can't believe I'm saying this to someone I've known for two or three days, but I feel like I can practically trust this pokemon – no, this _person_ with my life. "Right."

Mako leaps off the ground and squeezes me in a hug that I didn't know could be that tight with her stubby arms. When she lets go, she grins and runs off, leaving me to follow her to the stairs.

It's almost like I've known her for all my life.

* * *

_Mutilation Mountain – Floor 7_

I knew this luck wouldn't last forever. I knew it.

One paw on the seventh floor and we're surrounded by five different pokemon. One looks like it has a giant mouth hanging off its head, one looks like a living pile of gooey lava, one looks like a red turtle with a black shell, one is a Goddamn giant snake with Goddamn giant fangs, and the last one is a seal of some sort, I think.

I'm not gonna get very lucky in this fight. I can feel it.

"Hey, Ryuko," Mako whispers. "Your level. What is it?"

Level? What the hell is that?

_Fourteen,_ Senketsu mutters. _You're level fourteen._

That sounds almost pathetic but okay. "Uh… fourteen."

"Oh, okay. Not bad. I'm level thirty-six, if I'm not mistaken."

Holy shit.

"Anyway, these guys… range from levels twenty five to thirty. I can take on the slugma, the seviper, and the sealeo, but you have to fight off the mawile and the torkoal, okay?"

What. What are those?

_Just try to fight the yellow thing with a giant mouth and the turtle,_ Senketsu grumbles. I roll my eyes, but nod.

"Okay, I can do that."

"Good!" Mako smiles. "Okay. Let them strike first. Your instincts will take over no problem."

The fact that she's leaving this up to something that isn't going to work a hundred percent is kind of worrying, but I guess I don't have a choice here. '_Senketsu?_'

_What?_

'_I'll… uh, I'll leave it up to you._'

He goes silent for a while, before making a 'hmph' sound and… oh, my God, he sounds like he's _blushing! _'_Senketsu?!_'

_W-What?!_ He shouts. _I mean… yes, of course. Leave it to me. We'll be done in no time._

Oh my God. The voice in my head is a Goddamn tsundere.

_I am _not_ a–!_

Before Senketsu can finish his denial, all five pokemon close in on us, and I'm forced to jump on top of the seal to get out of the circle and land a few ways behind it. The seal makes a yapping sound and tries to get closer to me (to smack me into oblivion most probably), but Mako intercepts it, jumping in front of me and crashing onto it on full speed. Something cracks.

_Behind you!_

I leap out of the way, thanking my quick reflexes because otherwise I might have been crushed into pink and white furry pieces. The mawile (I suppose that's the one with the giant mouth?) snarls and dashes over to me, then suddenly disappearing into thin air.

_It's using Faint Attack,_ Senketsu says. _It may appear anywhere at any time! Be alert!_

'_I'm trying!_' I mentally snap. That costs me a precious second, though, because _something_ suddenly barrels straight to my chest and – oh God, did I hear something break? Whether my ribcage is broken or not, I don't have a chance to examine it because the torkoal (turtle?) steps away from me, as if trying to run away. I don't know what exactly it's trying to do, but seeing as it's not very fast…

I open my mouth, about to run over to it and bite it firmly on the leg, but instead, an unbearable screeching noise erupts from my throat, pink sound waves slamming against the torkoal and sending it _flying_ to the other side of the room. It crashes against the wall, sliding down and groaning in pain.

"Whoa," I smartly say.

Senketsu rolls his eyes. (You know, I can just feel Senketsu rolling his eyes or raising an eyebrow, those kinds of things, by now. Don't ask.) _Disarming Voice, a common fairy-type move. Not very strong, but that one was a critical hit. Plus, your special attack isn't half bad._

'_I'm gonna pretend I understood that and continue using it._' I open my mouth, preparing for another one of those absolutely awesome screeches, but Senketsu yells _STOP!_

'_What the hell do you want?! I'm kind of fighting for my life here!_'

_Did you forget that there's somebody else in the room with you, you brain-dead idiot?! While those sound waves are the only damaging things you release, the screeches also distract other pokemon, _including Mako_!_

… Oh, fuck.

Turning to look over at the sentret's general direction, I find Senketsu's words as true – Mako had her ears flattened against her head and her movements sluggish instead of swift like usual. Damn, so even that awesome move had its cons…? Great.

Improvised plan B, then!

I bound over to the torkoal, who appeared to be recovering from having its entire damn body slammed against a solid rock wall, and bite down on its leg – hard. The torkoal lets out a long, pained croaking sound and slumps against the wall, motionless. One down… where's the other one?

Before I can move to take a look around me, rows upon rows of stinging pain stab into my midsection and just… just, _ow._ Then I'm lifted into the air, I think (I don't know which way is up anymore really) and then… then I'm slammed onto the rough surface, the air knocked out of my lungs. I'm lifted into the air again and I think I'm just about going to faint when… when _something _happens. I don't know, it's this strange, sort of ticklish sensation all over me and when it stops, I feel completely alright again.

_Get out!_ Senketsu yells at me. _Get out of that mawile's jaws and fight, Ryuko!_

Fight… fight… fight…

I have to fight! I told Mako I'd stay by her side no matter what, and here I am, being smashed to the ground by some weak-ass pokemon! This is Goddamn _pathetic!_

"_Let go of me!_" I scream, wrenching free of whatever it was that was holding me and tumble to the floor, coming to a stop just in front of the unconscious torkoal. The mawile glares at me, face contorting into an ugly scowl. I scowl right back.

Instincts taking over, just like what Mako said, I dash over to the mawile with surprising speed and slam my entire being into it, impacting against its surprisingly soft body and causing the both of us to crash against the rock wall, sending a few pebbles crumbling down. The mawile hisses, voice like nails on a chalkboard, and shoves me away from it. I tumble once more, but I skid to a stop faster than last time.

_Once more!_ Senketsu shouts. _Do it, do it, do it!_

"Alright!" I yell, rushing forward and tackling the mawile head-first once more. The mawile lets loose an ear-piercing shriek and tries to force me off of it, failing utterly. I push its body deeper in the rock wall, the mawile's screeches getting louder and higher as the sharp tips of rocks press into its body, digging deep into its skin. With one final cry, its limp body hangs from the wall, suspended by the rocks jutting out of its body.

It's a disgusting sight, but it's a sight to behold as well.

Turning around, Mako's staring at me with a look of awe on her face, as if she had never seen anything like it before. Well, granted, she probably hasn't, but whatever.

"Ryuko! Ryuko, that was so cool!" she cries, jumping over to me and clapping her hands excitedly. "You transformed again into another pokemon! How'd you do that?"

"What?" Really, I did? '_Senketsu…?_'

_Shieldon,_ he says tiredly. _Steel-type, defensively oriented, from what I can gather. You've made it out relatively unharmed, besides the marks on where that mawile bit you. It seems your shieldon skin healed over it while you were transforming, though. Hm, hold on…_ The ticklish sensation comes back, and when it's over, Senketsu sighs heavily. _There. Take a look at yourself._

Looking down at my paws, they're… hey, they're a familiar slate gray again! I'm back to being a zorua, cool! Mako gasps as well, then giggles happily and hugs me.

"Your instincts took over, I told you! I _so_ told you we'd be fine. Now come on, I think I saw the stairs over here!" Mako bounds ahead, but before she can get very far, she turns around and faces me, a softer smile on her face. "Oh, and Ryuko…"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for keeping your promise." She nears me again and – and – and _WHOA WHAT?!_

"W-W-W-W-"

"Stop staring into space, silly! Follow me!" Mako giggles some more, bumps noses with me, then heads off down the corner and disappears.

I only stand there and stare into space some more. Senketsu has gone quiet. I stay there for a long, long time until Senketsu's voice jars me back to reality. _I told you she has the hots for you._

'_Senketsu. I said no._'

_You can't deny it. You're blushing like a virgin._

'_It's – It's not–!_'

_Well, admittedly, she did cheek-kiss you. I suppose that's excusable. Now what? I'm so tired I can't think straight, so just let me rest a little bit, alright? Final piece of advice before I go to sleep: follow the leader, you blushing virgin._

* * *

**Witty Commentary at 11:20. Wonderful. Or maybe not? I don't know, honestly.**

**Fun fact: I wrote 700 words of this a few days ago. I opened this document at 10 and wrote the remaining 3200+ words in an hour and a half. :) Word Count at 4490+, hooray! Hooray, hooray, hooray... that's my new favorite word.**

**Half of this chapter is just Ryumako I swear. Welp, this is for you, Rainbow. Have fun?**

**Okay so. Stuff that happened. I forgot the original name for the dungeon, but we have Mutilation Mountain, yay. Ashley is introduced, are you happy, Starry? You better be. Uh... Ryumako... Ryumako... more Ryumako... oh, and apparently, Ryuko has transforming powers now. Sylveon and shieldon... uh, right. And apparently, the one who attacked Shinjiro and his friends is also a sylveon. Interesting.**

**Also... also... what else... oh, right. What are your opinions about a fic revolving around Sentret Kingdom?**

**Good night, all. Maybe I'll improve the witty commentary tomorrow when my mind is running faster.**

_**Slacker, 5/27/14**_


	7. Don't Fight Us For Some Food

**Happy June, everyone. Anyway, pre-chapter notes:**

**- If you haven't noticed so far, all the chapter titles are based off of Kill la Kill's episode titles. Sort of.**

**- Minor characters! Hooray!**

**- This entire chapter was done today, so it feels a little rushed. Sorry 'bout that.**

* * *

_Mutilation Mountain – Peak_

Mako has informed me that the poke-God here is apparently called Arceus. Okay, might as well swear on his name now.

Anyway, the next few floors were _packed_ with wild pokemon once we headed up to the eighth floor. It was literally chaos. I swear to Go… Arceus. Thankfully, Mako is an Arceusdamn (that's… that's how you say it, right?) natural at this and managed to locate the stairs so we could escape relatively unharmed.

Now we're at the peak and there's still no sign of that monkey's partner, who Mako told me is an unnaturally thin munchlax, with teal fur and kind of looks like a tiny bear. I have no idea, really, but I think I get the basic idea of what one looks like.

"Muuuun~chieeee~! Where aaaare~ youuuu~?" Mako calls. It's obviously not working, so I settle for looking around myself.

The surface of the peak is pretty flat, but it's divided into two parts, with us on one part leading all the way back down to this mountain's entrance. The other part is quite small and leads nowhere, but has several rocks jutting out of the surface that form a semicircle.

Just then, there's a scuffing of feet (paws?) on the ground and Mako abruptly goes silent, her ears perking up to check who made that sound. (Apparently she knows me well enough by now that she knows it's me by the sound of my footsteps.) The silhouette of a bearish pokemon appears from behind a large rock from the other side and crawls over to us unsurely, eyes wide.

"Hey!" Mako shouts, having to raise her voice thanks to the rather large distance. "You over there! You're Munchie, aren't you?"

The munchlax – I think that's what he is – nods. "W-Who are you? How do you know my name?" he squeaks.

"Your friend told us!" Mako replies. "She's Ashley, chimchar, right?"

Munchie's eyes widen to a considerable size. "Ashley? She told you…?" He looks almost… shocked? I wonder why?

"Yeah, she put up a job request for it!" Mako grins. "Alright, just wait. We'll get you out of there somehow…"

"Ashley put up a job request to… to help _me?_" the munchlax looks like he's about to go into cardiac arrest. "W… Wh… Wha…?"

Disregarding his mumbles (that had already turned into incoherent blabber), Mako turns to face me. "Ryuko, do you know how to transform into a flying-type pokemon, maybe?"

"Flying-type…?" Neither of my former transformations had wings, and I don't think I'd be able to just turn into another pokemon completely… "Don't think so."

"Aww. Hm, now how're we gonna get him back here?" Mako ponders, staring off into space.

I stare over at the crevice separating us. It's fairly big and I don't think I'll ever hit the bottom if I fell, and I don't think I could jump across it either. Well, not me, I'm certain about that, but another pokemon might be able to…

Just as I'm about to suggest this, there's a loud flapping of wings above us. Mako looks up curiously and promptly lets out an undignified shriek.

Because above us is, quite literally, one of the largest furry bats I have _ever_ seen in my _entire. Goddamn. Life._

'_Arceusdamn', Ryuko._

'_Not now, Senketsu. 'Goddamn' sounds better._'

_Point taken._

"RYUKO!" Mako screams.

"What?"

"S-SWOOBAT!" she screams again.

"Mako, I can hear you fine. Volume down?"

"Oh, okay." She clears her throat and continued on in a normal voice, thankfully. "That's a swoobat, Ryuko! But they're not supposed to be that big, seriously! It's, like, superpowered with something or something! Ah, I said something twice. Make that thrice!"

I tilt my head back up to look at the bat again. It doesn't seem like it's noticed us, but I'm not betting on it and I drag Mako behind the biggest rock I can find. In my perspective, we're just about sheltered that the swoobat shouldn't notice us, so I relax a bit.

"How big are they, usually?" I ask.

"Uh… a bit taller than me?"

Another glance upwards confirms that yes, that swoobat really is too big to be considered normal. It's probably twice the size of Mako, or more, if we're really unlucky. As we always are.

The swoobat suddenly starts descending after flying in a circle in the sky and lands neatly on the other side of the peak, where Munchie is. Speaking of, he's pressed against a rock, as far away from the swoobat as possible. It seems to work, because the bat doesn't even notice him.

It hops around a bit on its small, clawed feet and sniffs the ground, before chirping delightfully. Nothing happens for a while, until – _OH MY GOD._

A bunch of fluffy blue furballs with wings just burst out off the semicircle the rocks had formed. That scared the fur off of me, swear. On second glance, they look a bit like mini-versions of the swoobat, but… fluffier? And I can't see their eyes. Uh…

"Those are woobat," Mako whispers. "They're the pre-evolution of a swoobat! I guess those are that swoobat's babies, huh?"

I nod absentmindedly. So then how did Munchie fit into all this? Had he wandered into this place by accident? No, scratch that, _nobody_ is stupid enough to 'accidentally wander' into a place called Mutilation Mountain…

My question is answered as soon as I had thought of it as the swoobat sniffs the air once more and nears Munchie's hiding place. The munchlax tenses, holds his breath, and appears to cross his fingers, though he doesn't really have fingers anyway. Then in one, swift movement, the swoobat snatches him out from behind the rock and dumps him in the semicircle.

"OH MY ARCEUS THEY'RE GONNA EAT HIM!" Mako screams, loud enough for the swoobat to hear us. Distracted from its to-be-meal, the swoobat makes some sort of annoyed sound and flits over to us. Mako lets out another scream and looks close to fainting, which I do not need because right now, it looks like we're going to need to fight a giant bat. And I'm not doing that alone.

The swoobat screeches at us and tries to grab Mako, but the sentret reacts quicker than I thought she would and dashes out of the way, leaping onto a jutting rock and using that as leverage to pounce onto the swoobat and bite down on it. Hard.

It cries out in pain and shakes her off, causing her to crash against another rock and struggle to stand up, dizzy. I guess this is where I come in, because the swoobat's approaching her rather quickly.

With as much speed as I can summon, I push off the ground and leap onto the swoobat's back, grabbing onto one of its wings and chomping down on it in a similar style to Mako's. Apparently, biting it hurts a lot for it lets out another annoyingly ear-piercing screech and throws me off with a bunch of sound waves.

_The attack Bite is a dark-type move, super-effective against psychic-types like swoobat,_ Senketsu adds in helpfully. I grumble a thanks and ready myself for another Bite attack (God, my jaws hurt), just as the swoobat takes advantage of my momentary delay and lunges towards Mako.

"A-Ahh!" With a panicked cry, I rush towards the bat, but it already has Mako in its feet (claws?) and is flying over towards the semicircle again. God, no, how am I gonna do this?!

_Transform!_ Senketsu urges. _Come on, transform into a flying-type pokemon! Do it, Ryuko!_

"I'm _trying!_" I snarl, focusing as hard as I can. I have to think, right?! Think of wings! Think of saving Mako! Think of helping her for once after all that's happened!

And yet, nothing happens. I don't get the ticklish sensation like last time, and Senketsu's exhausted too much power from transforming me back to help me this time around. Damnit, am I really that useless?! Can I do _nothing?!_

"Get awaaaay!" Mako shouts – and I mean _shout_. Her voice turns into an ear-blasting screech that would make a banshee jealous and it pretty much blows the swoobat away, slamming it against the rock wall. And… am I seeing this right?! Are those Goddamn sound waves?! Oh, my God, I think Mako's reached a new level of awesome.

The sound waves push the swoobat further in the rock wall until it breaks completely, causing the bat to fall off the cliff edge and toppling down to the ground. It hits after a while, a sickening crack resounding even from here. That sounded… really, really painful. There are soft pants from Mako's general direction, but other than that, there's only the soft sound of the wind blowing.

"R-Ryuko?" Mako calls. "You there?"

"Here! Are you alright? What about Munchie?"

"He's fine. Aren't you?"

"… F-Fine."

"Okay, good." I sigh in relief. "Thank God, Mako… I'm sorry I couldn't do anything, I–"

"It's okay, Ryuko! Don't apologize!" Mako exclaims. "Let's just focus on trying to get outta here, right?"

"Right…" Looking around, though, there really isn't much I can use as, like, a bridge or whatever, so… "What about those tiny things? The woobats or something?"

As if on cue, there are high-pitched squeaking coming from the other side and the loud flapping of wings. One by one, four of the furballs fly out of the semicircle and plunge down to the bottom of the mountain, probably to find their mom. Or dad, I don't know. I sigh – okay, there goes that small problem.

"Ryuko? There's… There's still another one here."

… "What?"

"Like, there's still a woobat here. See? Hey, it's licking me! Aww, you're adorable!"

"…" I can feel sweat running down the side of my head. Is this sentret more stupid than I thought? "Mako, wasn't it going to eat you minutes ago?"

"Nah, baby pokemon can't eat live pokemon unless they're cut into pieces and presented right in front of 'em. So they think I'm their friend now, aww!"

"That's… nice…" I sigh. I'll just scratch this off as another one of her moments of stupidity. "But we have to figure out what to do now, don't we?"

"I can help with that!"

"Eh?" I turn around and behind me is… is… wait, yellow and red… where have I seen him before? Hey, that's right… "Nagot?"

"That's me!" He bumps his fist against his chest (or where I suppose his chest is) and nods confidently. "I can deal with this. Step back now, miss!"

"Huh? What – JESUS!" With a mighty leap, the scraggy lands on the other side of the split peak, landing with a tumble on the rocky ground. "What the hell?! How'd you do that?!"

"You'd be surprised at exactly what I _can _do, miss!" He grins and winks over at me, before slipping in one of the gaps of the semicircle. "Ah, sir, miss, and… child. I suppose. Are you in need of assistance to reach the other side?"

"Hey, it's you!" Mako exclaims. "The scraggy! Your name's… Nagot, right? Yeah, are you gonna help us?"

I think Nagot nods; I can't really see from here. Nevertheless, he continues. "Indeed I am! Hand onto me tight, alright? You, there; sir! Please don't hesitate. Come on, now!"

"Oh, wait!" Mako gasps. "What're we going to do about this woobat?"

"This young child has nowhere to go…?" Nagot hums. "Why don't you take him in with you all? You're a rescue team, are you not? Surely you'll be able to find a suitable home for the young child."

"Oh, okay! That'll be cool." Then after a bit, Nagot leaps back out from the semicircle and onto the other side of the peak, this time landing with a solid thump. Munchie scrambles away from him instantly, eyeing him dangerously, while Mako secures the woobat in her arms while stepping away from him carefully. Now that I look at him, he looks like he has what looks like red threads wrapped around his wings… well, whatever.

"Is… Did I hear him right? Are we actually going to keep that little guy?" I ask, hoping Mako'd say no. Of course, things never go how I like them, and the sentret nods enthusiastically. I bury my face in my paws. "How are we going to feed another mouth, Mako?! And this one's a kid, isn't he? He'll be needing, like, twice the food we eat!"

"No problem! Don't you remember what Ashley's reward is?" Mako says. "Two thousand poke and berries! Lots of 'em! We'll be rich enough to feed Wooby!"

"That's not seriously what you're naming him."

"Yes I am! I found him first, so I get to name him!"

"Oh, for God's – let's figure out a name later on, alright?"

"Fiiine…"

Then I remember we have company and turn to look at the other pokemon. Nagot looked quite proud of himself and Munchie just looked uneasy about something. "Nagot, why'd you help us? I mean, not that I'm complaining, but…"

"Your mother was starting to worry. It's been a day since you entered this Dungeon, did you know?" Nagot explained – hold up! A day?! But…!

He notices my shocked expression and catches on quickly. "Oh, if you didn't know, time travels much faster in Mystery Dungeons, miss. Anyway, your mother was starting to worry, and she decided to ask me to look for you all while I was passing by your house." He hesitates a bit on the word 'house', which I'm tempted to sock him in the face for, seeing as his 'house' isn't any better than ours.

I nod anyway, forcing a smile. "Oh, thanks. How do we thank you…? Uh, maybe you could–"

"No, no! Just your thanks is enough for me." He grins. My head hurts because last time I saw him, this guy couldn't even say a single sentence without stuttering five times. And… wow, I'm not even sure this guy really _is_ Nagot.

"Well, okay. Thanks for being generous." Then I move on to our main concern; Munchie, who looked like he was about to sneak away. "And where do you think you're going? Your friend's waiting for you, you know, if she's still down there, anyway…"

"Are you sure?" he squeaks out all of a sudden. "Are you sure it was really Ashley? Are you sure you were really supposed to look for me and not someone else?"

"Uh, yeah. Why wouldn't it be?" I ask, raising an eyebrow (or what I suppose acts as my eyebrow). Munchie looks unconvinced, but eventually nods and inches closer to us.

I look over at Mako expectantly, who grins and holds up the team badge. With a bright flash of light, we're teleported back to the entrance.

* * *

_Mutilation Mountain – Entrance_

As soon as we set foot/paw on the ground, something wet drops on my nose. It gets harder and harder until we figure out that yes, it's raining, and a groan escapes Mako's, Nagot's, and my mouth; it's hard to forget what happened a few days ago when it had started raining.

"A-Are we going to have to stay the night at Zeika City?" Nagot asks, his timid personality back. I'm starting to wonder if he has a split personality or something.

Mako sighs and nods. "Ew, that place. It's all grimy and it's filled with drunks all the time, 'specially at night. Mm, we can deal with it. Come on, it's not far from here! Wooby, make sure to hold on to Mama's hand."

She's still calling the bat that name… whatever, we can deal with it once we find a cheap hotel.

The trek to Zeika City, which I later learn is a city known for its multiple bars and arcades, is rather uneventful. The rain starts coming down harder around halfway through, much to our chagrin, and there's the distant rumble of thunder in the distance to worry about as well. The sky is completely filled with dark clouds, so we can't really tell what time it is, but Nagot says it was well past five when he set off for Mutilation Mountain, so we can estimate it's around six or seven pm right now.

After around thirty or so minutes, we arrive at the entrance of a giant city, packed with buildings and nearly all of the lights on. There are a few pokemon outside bumbling about like drunk idiots (which they probably are, now that I think about it), but other than that, it's a straight dash for the first hotel we see.

Busting through the doors soaking wet probably isn't the best decision, especially since we're tracking mud, grass, and who knows what else along with us, but none of the hotel's inhabitants seem to notice. Except for… hey!

"Ashley?" Munchie squeaks, nearing the chimchar sitting on the couch warily. "Did you really…?"

"Only because you can be half-competent sometimes," the chimchar snaps before Munchie even has a chance to finish his question. She stands up and looks over at us disdainfully, before throwing us a large blue backpack towards Mako. The sentret scrambles to catch it and manages to secure it in her arms while still holding on to the woobat at the same time. God knows how she did that.

"There, your reward," she growls. "Now get out of my sight. This'll be the last time we'll meet, amateurs." She exits the hotel, dramatically slamming the doors close. Munchie scampers after her with one last look behind him.

Then they disappear into the rain.

Mako lets out a tired sigh. "Ashley's just this giant tsundere, isn't she?"

"What?"

"Nothing! Hey, so let's see…" she digs into the backpack, dragging it over to the couch and sitting on it comfortably. "Wow, two thousand and five hundred poke! Extra cash!"

Nagot looks at her. "S-Shouldn't you give that ba–"

"Three Oran Berries, three Pecha Berries, three Rawst Berries, three Cheri Berries, and three Chesto Berries. Ooh, _sweet._ Mom'll love these!" Mako continues on, ignoring Nagot completely. The scraggy struggles to get a word in, but I just shake my head and go over to the front desk. A pokemon that vaguely resembles a blue and black lion stands behind the desk, looking rather bored.

"Uh, how much for a night, two rooms?" I ask, feeling a bit intimidated by the pokemon.

She doesn't even look up from her book to reply. "One thousand and two hundred poke."

"I… uh, okay." That's a lot, and it feels horrible having to use our money so early, but… "Mako, it's a thousand and two hundred for a night and two rooms."

"Two rooms? Make it one! We can share a bed again and Wooby can sleep with Nagot!"

I sigh. So thrifty… "How's one room?"

"Seven hundred," she replies in that same monotone voice. I glance at the nametag on her neck; Fallow. Strange name, but I guess it doesn't really matter. "Yes, that's my name. What do you want?"

"What? Nothing," I reply quickly. There's this threatening sort of aura around her… "Thanks. Uh…" I grab the money from Mako and slide it over the desk, where Fallow barely acknowledges it. She snatches a key from somewhere and hands it to me.

"Room 783, fifth from the left, floor ten," she says curtly. "Enjoy your stay."

"Yeah… uh… you too," I say, probably dumbly, accepting the key and returning to where Mako and the rest were. "Hey, we got a room. Hurry up, we all need some rest." '_Especially you, Senketsu._'

His tiredness is only emphasized by the fact that he doesn't even reply to me.

* * *

Nagot fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow, and the woobat has settled beside the scraggy, snoring softly. Mako's about to sleep as well, but I shake my head.

"Not yet. What about the woobat? What are we going to do about him?" I ask.

Mako pouts. "Really, Ryuko! It'll be fine, we can feed him! Mom's croquettes are healthy for anyone!"

"That's not what I meant, but…" I sigh. "Fine, we'll have to do with that. Then, what do we call him? You can't seriously expect me to take the kid seriously when his name is Wooby of all things."

"Oogh, you're no fun, Ryuko. What do you wanna name him, then?"

"It's not me, it's… I don't think it really fits him?"

"Then…" she tilts her head. "What?"

"First of all… how do we know the kid's really a dude?"

Silence.

"Oh yeah," Mako breathes.

I face… paw. "So it might be either a boy or a girl?"

"I guess so."

Another facepaw. "That's just wonderful."

"Then how do we find out what's its gender?!" Mako panics.

"Geez, calm down. Why don't we ask… that pokemon downstairs?"

* * *

Fallow looks at us, unimpressed. "You want to find out this woobat's gender?" she asks.

"Uh… yeah," Mako says.

She sighs. "Very well. She's a female. Now, I have a question for you two…" she extends a paw and points at the woobat's wings, where the red threads I had seen a while ago are. "What are these? Decorations?"

"Uh, we don't really know. We found her with those on already."

Fallow's face contorts into a disgusted scowl. "Take it off."

"What?"

"I said take it off," she snaps. "These… do you know what these are?"

"Uh, no."

"…" She paws at the red threads once more. "Then, hopefully, you won't need to know about it. As soon as you get the chance, take them off. It will save this young child a great deal of pain." Then she retreats back to the front desk and leaves us hanging by the stairway.

Mako peers over at the red threads, ignoring the woobat's cry of protest. "They look pretty normal to me…" She even reaches over and ties them into a ribbon around the woobat's wing, which further drives the point that they don't even look remotely dangerous. "She's not saying anything… I guess they're not that bad?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Maybe that Fallow's just off her rocker or something."

Mako shrugs right back. "I guess we'll let her decide on her own. Hey, do these hurt?" the sentret asks, pointing at the red threads. The woobat hesitates a bit, before shaking its body side to side, which I guess means 'no'. "Then we don't need to worry!" Mako exclaims brightly.

"Okay, problem solved. Now what do we name her?" I ask. I would've crossed my arms, but I'm physically incapable of doing that right now.

"Um… I don't know. Let's start with letter M."

"M? Why?"

"Because then I can say 'I'm Mako, and this is my sister, M-something'! It'll sound cool because of the alliteration!"

I roll my eyes. Typical Mako. "Fine. Mako… Mako… Maiko? How 'bout that, Maiko?"

"Maiko!" Mako's eyes glimmer. "That sounds awesome! Let's go with that for now! You hear that, Maiko? That's your new name!" The newly-named Maiko squeaks and simply burrows her face deeper into Mako's arms, going back to sleep.

"Yeah, we need to sleep." I yawn. "Come on, let's go back. Get some rest so we can go back home tomorrow."

* * *

…

_It has been some time since we have met, Ryuko._

"Wha–? Who are you? How do you know my name?"

_You do not remember me? Good… it seems Iori has done his part._

"What? Who's Iori? Hey, answer me!"

_My apologies. I am prohibited from answering your questions. However… I do know what you may do to receive your answers._

"What? Really? Tell me, then!"

_No._

"EH?! YOU BASTARD!"

_What a foul mouth._

"Shut up."

_I did say I would not answer your questions. I may not do that until… urgh!_

"Huh? Until what?"

_Ugh… m-my apologies, Ryuko. I must go now._

"Eh?! Why?! Hey, come back…!"

'_Get the hell away from her, damnit! Striking when I'm weak, huh?!_'

_Tch! So you're awake… wonderful._

'_Hah?! Where do you think you're going?! Get back here!_'

…

"W-What the hell? What's happening?!"

'_Ryuko!_'

"Who's this… Senketsu?!"

'_Yes, it's me. Listen, that voice… don't listen to h… it!_'

"What? Why?"

'_She – I mean, it cannot be trusted. Look, just… trust me, alright?_'

"… Fine. But you have to answer my questions."

'_That will depend on the manner of your questions._'

"How I hate you…"

* * *

**Witty Commentary aaat... 7:20 pm?! What is this?!**

**Anyway, Word Count is at 4060+ words. Eh, could be better, but I just wanted to get a chapter up today.**

**A note: school starts on June 9. Updates will come sporadically, if they will come at all. Don't worry, I have no intentions of abandoning this fic unless I say so myself, which is unlikely.**

**Anyway! So, let's review this chapter. Munchie is rescued by a giant (dead) swoobat and the team gets a new member, sort of. Nagot makes another appearance, and it starts raining. Again. I think Nagot's ability is actually Drizzle and not Moxie because literally every time he shows up it starts raining. Well, moving on, Fallow by cometshadow makes an appearance as well, hooray! We'll be seeing another pokemon of the shinx evolutionary line, but that's not important right now. And if you've watched Kill la Kill, then maybe you might have an idea of what those red threads are. But I'm not saying anything~.**

**Also, Maiko, or Maiko Ogure. She's a thing too. Remember Shinjiro? She's in the same category as he.**

**And lastly, Senketsu and this other voice. I swear, there are literally so many voices right now I can't differentiate them. Hell, they might as well be Senketsu A, Senketsu B, and Senketsu C. Not kidding.**

**Anyway! Alright, that ends it. Up next: that part where Friend Areas are a thing (except they're not), and maybe maybe maybe MAYBE the start of Sinister Forest. Whoo.**

**Thanks for reading. Have a nice day, y'all. (Wow, I'm already at seven chapters? What the...)**

_**Slacker, 6/2/14**_


	8. A Forest I'll Deal With

**Expect updates to be very sporadic from now on. Pre-Chapter Notes:**

**- Serious Business.**

**- New character, revelations, and the return of Clyde. Remember him?**

**- Ryuko really is forgetful, huh.**

**- This chapter is fairly uneventful, in my perspective, but I can be proven wrong.**

* * *

The next morning is… eventful, to say the least.

When I woke up, I immediately consulted (read: assaulted) Senketsu for answers. Useless little voice didn't say anything, so there were three possible situations: he was ignoring me, he was asleep, or he wasn't present, which I find hard to believe.

After that, Mako woke up and went out to wake Nagot and Maiko up in the neighboring room. I did not expect that the sentret's waking methods consisted of getting a metal pan out of nowhere and banging it repeatedly on the desk. Probably half a dozen (or more. Probably more) pokemon came barging in and yelled at Mako to shut up before they made her. The sentret drooped slightly and placed the pan back where she had found it, which was apparently the floor. I don't want to know why there was just a pan lying around randomly on the floor, but I dared not ask.

So then, since that had very quickly woke Nagot and Maiko up, Mako took the woobat in her arms and went downstairs to get food, with Nagot and I trailing behind her somewhat reluctantly. I have this strong feeling the hesitance was because we didn't want to find out if Mako's metal-pan-banging was loud enough to be heard in the lobby.

We descend down to the first floor. All eyes turn to glare at the cheerily humming sentret. Nagot and I immediately turn the other direction and exit through the back door.

Once we meet back up with Mako, she wanders around the streets blindly until she finds a tiny café situated northeast of the city. We're given these strange-looking foods that kinda resemble giant gummy worms, but even so, I don't think I'd want to eat these.

"Ryuko! What's wrong?" Mako asks through a mouthful of that gummy worm food, tilting her head slightly at me.

"Uh… just, what is this?" I poke at the black gummy worm on my plate halfheartedly.

"That's a gummi, Ryuko!" Mako replies cheerily. "They're good for making you smarter! Though, I don't really know how that works…" She peers over at the gummi on my plate curiously. "Oh, that's a black gummi! No fair, dark-types like you love those. I get one a' these." She held up what remained of her green gummi. "It's for bug-types. Y'know, I would've gotten a white gummi, but they sold out!"

"Uh… okay." Picking up the black gummi cautiously, it does look… kind of appetizing, even though I'm holding it about an arm's length away from me. Not that it's much of a distance, because my paws aren't very long to start with. "Well, whatever." I take a bite out of it and oh my God.

I have entered heaven and I never want to leave.

It's not long before I finish the black gummi without leaving so much as a piece of it on the plate. To my right, Nagot is savoring the taste of an orange gummi and to my left, Mako is nibbling on the rest of her gummi. Maiko looks like she's still sleeping, which I can't exactly blame her for.

Once we finish up, the café owner asks for a total of three thousand and two hundred poke. I admit I almost went into cardiac arrest at that, but Mako showed her amazing ability to bargain with others and lowered the price enough for us to pay with exactly one thousand. I don't understand that girl sometimes.

The trek back to Clockwork Coast Town is, thankfully, uneventful. Halfway through, a light drizzle starts, but it disappears as abruptly as it had appeared. Good, because I'm not looking for another furdryer at home; there was only one in the entire house and Arceus only knows how the Mankanshokus got one.

Once we get back to town, Nagot bows to us and is about to leave, when Mako suddenly yells, "Wait!"

"…" He almost reluctantly turns around to look back at her with a questioning expression. Yeah, I can guess why he wouldn't want to stick around for very long…

"Why don't you join us?" Mako blurts out. I almost choke on my saliva while Nagot's eyes widen. I admit, I was half-expecting something worse than that, but… join us? How does that even work?! "We're a rescue team and stuff, and we couldn't have done that mission without you! How about it?"

Nagot hesitates for a long while, before sighing. "I don't know… even if I do join your team, do you have anywhere I can stay? My old house is too far from yours, so that's a con of accepting me in your team…"

"You can li–"

"_No_, I'm pretty sure he can't live with us." I raise an eyebrow at Mako. "You really think we have enough money for yet another member?"

The sentret pouts. "But I really want him in our teeaaam! Don't you, Ryuko?"

"Sure I do, but… yeah, that is a problem." I frown. "I don't really know how we're going to go about that. But your house is near the Post Office, isn't it?" I continue after he nods. "That shouldn't be too bad. Uh, we can have a team meeting everyday at the Post Office or so, something like that, I guess."

Mako brightens. "Oh, that's cool, Ryuko! How'd you think of that?"

"… Common sense?"

With that settled, we bid Nagot goodbye and head back home. Inside, Sukuyo greets us pleasantly with a declaration that lunch is almost ready. We (more of Mako, really) tell her about the happenings and show her Maiko happily. She goes absolutely still and makes both of us worry before Sukuyo scoops the woobat into her paws (I don't think I can call them arms. I really don't) and coos over the baby pokemon. We leave her to her business.

"If we have Nagot in our team, then what are we going to do about Maiko? Isn't there, like, an age limit for these things?" I ask, once Mako and I are back in our room.

Mako ponders over it for a moment. "Nah, I don't think so! We can have her in our team too!"

"Are you serious…?"

"Yeah! Baby pokemon can fight too, y'know!"

I find that a bit hard to believe, but seeing as I have no knowledge of this world other than what Mako has told me, I guess I'll just have to take her word for it. "Well, okay then. Don't blame me if she gets hurt during a mission, though."

* * *

During lunch, only Sukuyo, Barazou, Mako, and I are at the table. The Mankanshokus dig in quite readily, but Matarou's absence is kinda… worrying, especially knowing how he somehow gets into fights all the time.

"Eh, he'll be fine! I mean, it's not like he got lost in some forest or whatever."

Are you perhaps foreshadowing something, Mako?

Nevertheless, I file the thought away from my mind and munch on my croquettes. It brings back memories of the black gummi a few hours ago, and I find myself wishing I can have more… well, I'll have to deal with croquettes daily before I can even think of having more expensive foods like that… sniff.

_Don't be so emotional. It's just a gummi,_ Senketsu grunts.

'_Oh, welcome back. Damn, I was even starting to hope you'd leave me alone for a day…_'

_You of all people – pokemon – know that isn't going to happen._

'_True._' I sigh. '_So, what was with last night? There was this girl, wasn't there?_'

_Girl? What gi– oh._ I can practically hear the venom dripping off his voice, even if it's in my mind. _That… was someone you don't need to know. Or want to know, really. It's best to stay away from…_

'_You know, you can just call her a she,_' I think with a touch of irritation, as it seems Senketsu still doesn't know whether to call that girl an 'it' or a 'she'.

… _Fine. Stay away from her. She's just the manifestation of trouble._ Senketsu growls.

'_Mm…_' I bite my lip. '_Last night, she said something about… knowing what I can do to get some damn answers to my damn questions. And I _need_ my damn answers, I'm sure you know that. Can't you at least _tell_ me anything?_'

_Like?_ Well, this is bad. Senketsu's replies have reduced to one word and they sound like they're coming out from gritted teeth. Damn, maybe I shouldn't have pushed it this far again.

'_My last name, at least?_' That shouldn't sound too demanding. My last name isn't something that Senketsu should be worrying about, I think.

… He hesitates. _Very well. Your last name… it is– _'

_SLAM_

"MOM! DAD! IT'S GUTS!"

Oh for fuck's sake.

* * *

It turns out this kid named Guts, Matarou's best friend, got lost in a Mystery Dungeon called Zeika Forest, which is northeast of Zeika City (obviously). After Matarou's rather dramatic entrance, he started jumping up and down and babbling that we (meaning Mako and I) needed to get out there and help his friend. Naturally, Mako accepted, pumping her fist in the air and loudly declaring it our third rescue mission. And of course, I was dragged along, and Senketsu never continued his sentence.

Just… kill me now.

As promised, Mako brought Maiko along and we made our way over to the Post Office and Nagot's… settlement. The scraggy came out, still looking somewhat unsure about all this, but agreed a bit reluctantly. Then comes the idea that Mako paid little to no attention as to how to get over to Zeika City, much less Zeika Forest, since we had only gone there from Mutilation Mountain as we had little to no other choice. So we had to consult the only other pokemon in the immediate area who probably knew where to go.

That is, Clyde.

Yeah, I don't even remember him.

"Zeika City…?" the shaymin (at least, I think that's what he is) mumbles. He thinks about it for a while, before nodding. "Yeah, I think I remember. It's pretty far, but it's just straight west from here. You'll pass by Azaya Town around halfway there, so it can serve as somewhat of a landmark for you guys." He narrows his eyes at us, but there's the beginning of a smirk on the edge of his lips, so he looks less threatening than he's probably trying to look. "Any reason why you're going there?"

"We're gonna help out my bro's best friend!" Mako valiantly declares, pumping her fist in the air. Maiko attempts to mimic her, but fails and just ends up looking spectacularly adorable. "He got lost in Zeika Forest so we hafta go find him."

Clyde nods. "Is that so… well, good luck to you… four," he glances at Maiko and Nagot, probably unfamiliar faces. "New teammates, I suppose?"

"Mhm! See, this is Nagot, and this Woo – I mean, Maiko." The sentret gestures to the scraggy behind her and the woobat in her arms respectively. "Well, we're gonna go now! Bye, Clyde!"

The shaymin waves goodbye to us as the doors of the Post Office shut behind Nagot.

* * *

Shinjiro (remember him? No? Me neither) drops a bunch of papers on the ground as he stares at us, wide eyed. Or, at least, more wide eyed than usual. I don't know. "Zeika Forest?!"

"Yeah, we're going there. Why?" Mako tilts her head.

"D-Don't you know?!" the ledian (I am so forgetful right now. All the names are being given to me by Senketsu, so blame him if I accidentally call Shinjiro a dragonite or something) shouts. "They say something's going on in Zeika Forest recently. There are strange noises and screams sometimes come from there during night…" He shivers. "Not that I'm scared of it! But everyone knows it's dangerous there, so they make sure to stay away from that place. What was your brother's friend thinking when he went there anyway?"

"Guts said he smelled something weird and went off to investigate," Matarou's sudden voice said. I'm pretty sure I didn't see him come out of the house, but considering he's Mako's sibling, I guess that one reason is enough for me to stop trying to apply logic anymore. "He didn't come back after a long time, so I went to get you guys 'cause you're a rescue team and you're my sisters, so I don't have to pay you."

… Despite his lack of a reward for us, I feel my lips twitching upwards when he said 'sisters'. God, I'm such a softie.

_Right you are._

Ignoring Senketsu's remark, I turn my attention back to Shinjiro, who crosses his arms. "Well, that's not good… Zeika Forest is said to be filled with grass-types and bug-types, but recently, ghost, dark, and fairy-types have started flocking to it as well. Must be the dark energy that place gives off, though I don't know why fairy-types would be there…" He sighs. "Fine, whatever. Good luck to you four in your mission." Almost reluctantly, he scoops the papers up in his arms again and hands a couple newspapers towards Matarou before flying off.

* * *

_Zeika City – Monicam Hotel, Lobby_

"So… why are we here? … Again?" Nagot asks the cheery sentret skipping forward to the front desk, where Fallow stood.

"'Cause we need info on the forest, and since it's near this city, we should be able to find someone who knows a lot! Mainly…" Mako points at the luxray (this better be what she is, Senketsu, or I will force you out of my head through _all means possible_), who raises an eyebrow at the stubby paw pointed her way. "Her! Fallow! Or… whatever her name is."

_Looks like forgetfulness runs in the family._

'_Clearly._'

Mako approaches Fallow with the nonchalance of a child who has no idea what she's getting herself into. Which kind of describes Mako pretty accurately, now that I think about it… anyway. Fallow stares at the sentret with a hint of curiosity, though her expression remains relatively bored.

"Hiya again!" Mako greets enthusiastically. "We were wonderin' if you know anything about Zeika Forest?"

Fallow freezes up.

She appears to have stopped moving entirely. I wouldn't be surprised if she had stopped breathing as well, and if her heart had skipped a few beats.

Mako starts to panic, but the luxray regains her composure almost instantly, clearing her throat and raising her chin to maintain her status. "… Why?"

If I've learned anything from being with Senketsu, it's that one-word-responses usually mean you have to stop the conversation unless you want things to go really bad. Trust me, I know my stuff.

I step forward to distract Mako and stop her from asking any more questions about the subject, but the sentret beats me to it. "We're heading there for a rescue mission for my bro! Our mail-ledian says it's really dangerous there 'cause weird noises and screams come from it during nighttime. Or something."

Fallow frowns. Here is where I try to laugh nervously and maybe drag Mako away to prevent a possible reenactment of Chapter 2 (whatever that is – it came to mind, for some reason), but she opens her mouth before I do. "Every piece of information comes at a price."

Oh, my God.

"Mako, let's go," I say hurriedly, grabbing the sentret's arm. "We can't afford to waste any more money. Let's just ask someone else, okay?"

Fallow, for some reason, appears surprised. Then she lets out a faint chuckle. "I did not mean a monetary price. Do you really want to hear this?"

Mako goes silent, her expression unreadable as she stares at the luxray. Fallow stares back, and the staring contest continues on for a couple minutes before the sentret ever-so-slightly nods.

Fallow contemplates Mako for a moment, before dipping her head. "Very well. The Zeika Forest was, once, not a Mystery Dungeon."

"What?!" I exclaim. So maybe I was a bit too loud, but my reaction was accounted for, okay? How was that forest _not_ a Mystery Dungeon before?

Fallow nods. "It was a peaceful place completely devoid of any wild pokemon, and was a popular area for the local pokemon, especially the children, to play in. An amusement park was even built there, and it became so popular that this city thrived on the money received from the park.

"But… ('_There's always a 'but' in these kinds of stories. No, I don't mean the 'but' with two letter 't's._') There was a strange occurrence in the amusement park. A strange pokemon no one had managed to see slipped in without paying and used their psychic powers to twist the park's dimensions. The fabric of space itself was ripped apart and that initiated the changing of the area to the Mystery Dungeon we know now." At this, Fallow scowls.

"No one could find or identify the pokemon who might have caused this change. It appears they have completely disappeared from the city. As a result of the newly-formed Mystery Dungeon, however, during the changing process, there were still several pokemon in the park and… well, if I were to be frank, almost all of them died."

Mako blinks in surprise. I suppress a gasp.

"After that incident, our previously large sums of money dwindled down to near nothing. The only reason there are still buildings standing is because of the help from the Queen." Fallow's eyes glaze over, but she recovers instantly and faces us properly once again. "She donated enormous amounts of poke to us which helped the city greatly. Though, it's not like the drunk idiots realize that." She snorts. "That's it."

Mako remains uncharacteristically silent. I'm about to drag her away and thank Fallow for her info, but the sentret speaks up. "When did this happen?"

Fallow thinks about it for a while before replying, "A few months ago, give or take."

Mako bites her lower lip and appears to be deep in thought. Just as I'm about to say something (this seems to be happening a lot today, huh), she nods and her usual smile springs back up on her face. With a quick thank-you to Fallow, she bounds out the door of the hotel, with Nagot and I trailing her. I think we're starting to become her reluctant bodyguards or something… not that she actually needs bodyguards.

* * *

With some help from the citizens, we end up in Zeika Forest's entrance. It's northeast of the city, as we found out, along with lots of unwanted remarks ("That place is the bane of this whole city's existence! Why in the name of Rayquaza's holy scales are you even thinking of going there?!" and "Are you specifically asking for a ticket to Giratina's world? You must be an escapee from the mental hospital! Someone give me the number to Saint Joy's, I must let them know their high security system isn't very deserving of its status!". And that's only two; I think one of somebody's companions fainted).

_Zeika Forest – Entrance_

"So we're here!" Mako announces rather redundantly. She turns to us, clears her throat, and assumes a semi-official stance. "Let's see! From what we've heard from this city's pokemon, this Dungeon is completely different from other Mystery Dungeons. Normal Dungeons follow a floor system, right? Well, this forest is weird 'cause instead of floors, they use areas!"

"… Areas?" Nagot prompts once nobody spoke in a while, just staring blankly at Mako.

The sentret nods. "Yeah! Like Area 1, Area 2, Area 3, that kinda stuff. It's muuuch harder to navigate because the only way you'll know you've entered a different area is when the area gets darker and the wild pokemon change."

"What?" I exclaim – I couldn't help it, seriously… "When the area gets… darker? Okay, that's just weird and stupid and totally illogical. Who came up with this stupid system?"

Mako shrugs. "The pokemon who created the Dungeon, maybe?"

I just sigh. "That doesn't… oh, whatever. Go on."

"Okay! So, that's a part of this weird Dungeon. Next is that it's got 'round… thirteen areas. Like Fallow said, there are ghost, dark, fairy, grass, and bug-types here; those are the dominant types, I guess. Also, also! They say the place's supposed to give off this reeeally dark vibe, and that there might be someone or something that's inside this Dungeon that's been doing all this. Ah!" she cries out in sudden… I don't know. "Maybe we'll find that pokemon who changed this Dungeon!"

Nagot lets out a quiet scream and buries his face in his palms, praying to the poke-God that whatever Mako had just said won't happen. I'm kind of hoping for it too, and I'm also hoping we just find this Guts pokemon and get the hell out of the place; I'm starting to see (rather, feel) why exactly others steer clear of this place…

_Coupled with the fact that you're apparently scared of dark-types…_ I can feel Senketsu grimace. _I might have to do a lot of work. Again. Sigh…_

'_You act like _you're_ the one who has to suffer!_' I mentally whine. Oh, God, I just whined. Mako's rubbing off of me. '_Can't you transform me into that fairy thing that made me look like I turned thirteen? 'Cause those are, like… resistant to dark-types or whatever, right?_'

Senketsu scoffs. _You think I have enough energy after fighting _her_ off left for you? No, I don't, actually. Don't expect me to do anything for you for today._

I roll my eyes. Thankfully, neither Mako or Nagot were paying attention, most likely because Nagot is still sulking and Mako is inspecting the entrance for whatever. '_It was just _one_ girl! How much trouble could that be for big, tough you?_'

_Well, I'll have you know, Junke– _He realizes his mistake a tad too late as he stammers over his next few words. _I mean… uh… she's tough._

'_Junke._'

_Ryuko, please – _

'_Senketsu, in exchange for telling me my last name, tell me who this 'she' is. No buts. Just tell me who she is._'

… Senketsu heaves a great sigh. _V… Very well. But… may this wait? I don't feel particularly comfortable telling you now._

I frown slightly, but I guess I have to wait it out because an angry Senketsu is equal to death. '_Fine. Don't forget, okay?_'

I swear he rolled his nonexistent eyes here. _Whatever._

"Mm… ahh, what do we have here?"

The sudden, unfamiliar voice catches me – and, it appears, everyone else – off-guard. Mako jumps back, tensed in a battle stance, and Nagot looks around warily. Before any of us could react, a strangely familiar pokemon emerges from the bushes near the entrance to Zeika Forest. Now that I take a closer look…

Hey! That's… That's the thirteen-year-old-me! I mean… the sylveon or something I transformed into some days ago. What's another one doing here? The sylveon smiles (grins?) wickedly, exposing her two sharp fangs as she licks her lips. "Rescuers, huh?" she says in that sickeningly sugary sweet voice. "Nobody ever comes in here anymore. Mm, I wonder why you guys are all here?"

Her gaze drifts to stare at Maiko, who had flitted out of Mako's arms and hovered next to the sentret. The sylveon's eyes widen at the red threads wrapped around the woobat's wings, her grin growing wider until rows of sharp teeth are clearly visible. "My, my… so it's one of that bat's kids, huh?"

"Who are you?" Mako growls, her voice sounding completely different from normal.

The sylveon giggles in an ear-piercing high-pitched voice. "Does it matter? It's not like you'll live long enough for my name to matter to any of you!" She pauses, then stares at me rather intently. I take a step back to stay safe. Then – oh, God, I think her grin is stretching her face. "Ooh… you all are an interesting bunch now, aren't you?"

She turns around and is about to return back into the forest before she seems to think twice and face us slightly. Her grin is still visible, unfortunately. "Heehee… but, I guess I'll be nice today. I'm Nui Harime! Veeery nice to meet you. Very nice to meet you indeed… Ryuko Matoi."

Then she disappears into the overgrowth.

* * *

**Please don't kill me. Uh... Word Count: 4050. Living up to my namesake here.**

**Updates aren't going to be this early on in the future. Too bad - in the meantime, I might write a GTTF spin-off, which is in my profile under the Planned Stories section. Take a look if you want - if you're interested, send a PM my way.**

**Anyway! Alright, on to the chapter itself. So apparently, there's this dudette named Nui, a sylveon. And Ryuko's last name is Matoi, though it's not much of an important reveal. Eh. And Sinister Woods just became a whole lot more sinister, didn't it? Enter Zeika Forest, introduced by Fallow the luxray and exposition'd by Mako. Areas... I don't know what I was smoking when I wrote that part, but I think I'll keep at it. Oh, also, Junke-something is apparently the person/pokemon who Senketsu really hates. It's quite obvious by now, because Senketsu's a careless idiot, but I'll keep it hidden for now.**

**What else... okay. Up next: Zeika Forest and maybe the introduction of two new OCs. Or four, or six, depends on how long I'll drag the chapter out, haha. Stay tuned, everyone.**

_**Slacker, 6/9/14**_


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